Cooper’s ear infection from last month never truly cleared up…being in daycare meant that while his immune system was fighting the ear infection, it was also beating off the plethora of nasty germs coming from the other filthy toddlers in Coop’s class. So we’re on a different type of antibiotic…one that may only add to the diarrhea he is already experiencing. And in the few days between Cooper’s 1-yr check-up on Monday, and when I brought him in Saturday morning, his bottom gumline has started to whiten and we are now suspecting some teeth soon! Which probably accounts for the diarrhea (cuz really, it’s only loose stools at his normal pooping times…yes, my kid’s regular poop schedule still means he goes 2-3 times a day). And the runny nose he had when I picked him up Friday evening. But needless to say, this poor child is a bit uncomfortable.

Last night we had a slight lapse between pain killers…where one wore off a little sooner than planned and the dose given at bedtime hadn’t yet kicked in. I put Cooper to bed at 7:45pm and he cried and cried and cried. When I went in his room, he wasn’t sitting or standing up in his crib, wanting to be picked up like he is when he’s just mad about going to bed. Instead, he was laying there on his belly just crying piteously.

I gave him some homeopathic earache drops (go in the mouth under the tongue) and rocked him for over a half-hour…the first fifteen minutes of it he cried nonstop. I just kept rocking him and singing to him until he finally calmed down…then rocked a little longer just to make sure he wouldn’t get bent out of shape if I set him down right away.

Thankfully he slept well…not thrashing around restlessly like he had been for the past several nights. And this morning? He got up in a great mood and resumed surfing…this time with a couple of granola bars.

And turns out Gavin had a fantastic time at Justin’s company party. He even came home with a little balloon animal. I was surprised that he had it since Justin (yes, Justin) is afraid of clowns, but I guess the balloon-animal guy wasn’t a clown, so Gavin was able to get this fun little guy (who also doubles as a wrist corsage):

I did go out briefly. But only for about 2-1/2 hours.

Today was Justin’s company picnic. I look forward to it every year because they do have a nice picnic…rent a pavillion, grill, play softball games, and the place where they go each year includes a water park. I couldn’t go last year because Cooper was just over a week old, so I was not up to sitting in 90+ degree heat with a newborn and post-partum heat-flashes.

This year I was all about it. I even made sure I had a suitable bathing suit…nothing too matronly since I try to be hip, but nothing that might get Justin fired because it got yanked off by one of my kids while playing in the waterpark.

But Cooper has had diarrhea all week. Mild, but still not suitable for public pool situations. And he’s been fussy, so since the pediatrician still saw fluid behind both his ears on Monday (leftover from his ear infection last month), I thought I’d best bring him in this morning to ensure it hadn’t gotten ugly again.

It had.

So since he was already banned from the pool due to the poops, the ear kind of cinched it that I would not be going at all. Which is just as well since Justin and Gavin left for the picnic shortly after I left for the doctor’s office.

Tonight was also the dinner for a friend’s upcoming birthday, so I had a babysitter coming at 5pm. Justin was supposed to drop Gavin by around the same time (or so I thought) and go on to the Rush concert with the Alaskan students he’s been playing ambassador to all week. By 5:20, no Gavin. And no responses to my calls or voicemails to Justin’s phone.

I go to dinner…play fifth wheel to my friends, and have a couple margaritas with my yummy dinner. Uninterrupted dinner. Well, besides when I called Justin two or three more times, and called the babysitter wondering if my eldest child ever showed up.

He hadn’t.

I finish my dinner, socialize a little more, and arrive home a little after 8pm. The house is completely quiet and the babysitter informs me that Gavin just went to bed…literally passed out from all the water and sun and fun he had today. He’d only gotten home an hour prior. I thank her, pay her, try calling Justin again, then started pouring myself some cosmos.

And since I didn’t have anywhere else to go and no husband to impress, I went from this:

including these:

and exchanged it for this (including swapping out my saucy butt-floss for some saggy maternity undies):

I know. Don’t say it. I am one sexy beast in my ratty t-shirt and old strawberry pj pants.

In preparation of friends and family coming into town and filling my house with fun and excitement in honor of Cooper’s 1st birthday on the 12th, we have been cleaning. And cleaning. And cleaning some more. And no, our house is still not all that clean because well, we’ve cleaned it like twice since Cooper was born. I might be exaggerating, but not by much.

Justin did some vacuuming and mopping; I’ve been tackling the bathrooms and the never-ending-piles-o-laundry (and really, WTH…every time I go to Target to pick up some more laundry supplies, they’ve stopped carrying whatever I’ve last bought AND they’ve rearranged the whole dang laundry aisle); we’ve been tag-teaming for dishes, toys, and general clutter (I admit, I am a clutter-monster and a pack-rat). So at least we’re getting somewhere so that come this weekend, we just need to do a few good wipe-downs of things and run the vacuum. Or so we hope. We’ll see how things go with weekend.
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In other housekeeping news, Karen over at The Rocking Pony gave me this and I am tickled pink! I swear, she is one of the sweetest people I know.

I would like to pass it along to

• LaskiGal
• Sue over at As Cape Cod Turns
• Tranny Head
• LagLiv

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I realized that due to Justin’s incredibly heavy work schedule in the past few weeks and my idiocy, we never updated you guys on the final say in Gavin’s Child Find testing, etc. The final decision was that he is about 6 months behind for Receptive Language (what he hears and understands), and about 11 or 12 months behind for Expressive Language (what says, his vocabulary, how easily is he understood by strangers). In other words his auditory processing is on par with that of a 3-1/2 year old boy and he speaks like a 3-year old. This has certainly explained a lot of our frustration in communicating with Gavin, and explains why when we ask him a question he sometimes gives us an answer that just isn’t quite right. Add in his stuttering, and it’s downright aggravating for all of us because he’s annoyed he can’t get his words out or get his point across or can’t understand why we keep asking him the same dang thing over and over. And for us…we just have a hard time seeing our child struggle, or hear his classmates speak so much better (or worse, hear children a year or younger have what seems to be better speaking and comprehension skills).

So thankfully we will have our IEP and will be starting services the first week of September. Three hours of therapy per month…well, technically in 3 weeks. The fourth week of the month is set aside for any additional help if needed or meeting with the teacher for in-depth discussions, etc. The neat thing is that it is going to be at the elementary school that he will be going to in Fall ‘09, so by the time he starts kindergarten he will be King of the Classroom and will know the school well.

Guess what I got in the mail today. Guess!
Uh, no…guess again.
Nope.
Un-uh.
Try again.
Give up?
I received the shirt I won from Karen’s puppy pool!!!! Turned out great, huh?

Thanks again, Karen…you really didn’t have to!

I’m sure you’ve noticed I haven’t been over on all of y’all’s blogs. Maybe you haven’t. Maybe you’ve been relieved to not have your comments hijacked by the chatterbox. Well, whatever it is, I have a good excuse. We have family staying with us, mainly due to Gavin’s birthday (and a little because they like us…a little).

It’s been really nice to not go into work and to spend time with them and my kids. And because I’m such a great mom, I scheduled Gavin’s first real dentist appointment on the morning of his birthday. He did really well…a lot better than I was expecting since he gets really anxious around anyone in scrubs. I originally did a dental consultation with my own dentist, but after he left and the practice went to a different guy who doesn’t have children, I figured I’d bring the kids to a pediatric dentist. Wow…what a difference! I want my teeth cleaned there from now on! The whole office was decorated in a “Under the Sea” fish-type-theme, the forms I filled out had the fish all over them, the exam chairs were in various shades of blue, there were fish tanks, and all the kids there (varying in age from 3 to 7 at the time) were relaxed, laid-back in their chairs with sunglasses on while getting their teeth cleaned, staring at their own personal balloon floating above their heads. Periodically you’d hear the dentist counting a child’s teeth out loud, or loudly praising a child for “No Cavities!!!” or “Good Job on Your FIRST Visit!!!”

The hygienist we had was so sweet and patient. Gavin wasn’t too sure about the moving chair, but tolerated it if I let him hold my hand. She showed him the Tickle Brush and tickled his finger with the tooth-cleaning brush several times until he was comfortable enough to let her tickle his teeth with it. He thought that Mr. Sprinkler and Mr. Thirsty (the water pick and the sucker-thing) were hysterical and thought it was great that she could give him a drink of water! Once his teeth were cleaned, he even allowed her to floss his teeth….I was totally stunned! And so proud of him! Afterwards the dentist came, counted his teeth, pronounced him cavity-free to anyone in the office, and since this was our first visit with them, went over some basic stuff (how to get him to quit swallowing the toothpaste, when to call them if he sustains a mouth injury, reinforcing healthy food choices and brushing habits, etc.), and took a picture with Gavin for his personalized “My First Dental Visit” book.

Like I said, I want my teeth cleaned there.

As we were leaving, I saw their “Binky Busters” board, where it showcased photos of kids who kicked their (extended) binky habit. Most of the kids looked to be about 3…but some looked older. One little girl looked to be around 5. Made me feel a little better about Gavin having his until he was 32 months old (I have excuses! Want to hear them? Maybe just one? He didn’t cut his 2-year old molars until he was 2-1/2, when he got all four at once, and the binky gave him a lot of comfort and relief…I just couldn’t take that from him. Once they were in, he surrendered the binky pretty easily). And also glad that I got Gavin to kick his binky habit when I did, before any dental expert got a look-see in his mouth and chastised me for being a negligent mother who will allow her orally-fixated child go to college with his pacifier.

But like I said, Gavin did GREAT! He was compliant, minimally anxious, and was funny and charming when all was done. I was so grateful for such a great experience that I thanked and nearly hugged everyone on the way out.

Now tomorrow is his 4-year old check-up. Yes, I am a mean, mean mom…and a stupid one, too…testing my 4-year old’s patience with health professionals. But wait. There’s more: scheduled 2-1/2 hours after Gavin’s check-up is his 4-year old portraits…this child who can be very sweet and funny loses his trained monkey act and becomes the biggest stinker at photography studios. And I’ll probably end up taking him by myself. Right before lunch. Because I am a glutton for punishment.