Mountain Mama

I didn’t want a picture of my crashed truck at the top of the blog any longer.  I am going tomorrow to get a new car- a green Ford Explorer.  It’s the same year as my old one (2002) but it has less than half the mileage.  Also, it’s a regular Explorer, not the truck kind like my old one.  I’m pretty excited about it.

This is me and Ben at the home opener, about 3 months ago.  The band is in the background, and that’s the back of my Grandma’s head next to us.

This is what I did on Wednesday:

I fell asleep at the wheel with Ben in the car.  We ran into a guardrail.  We are both fine, and that is why I am thankful!

Poor Ben!  He has pneumonia!  He’s had a little cough for a couple of months now, as well as a runny nose since he started day care full time.  He’s had 2 sinus infections practically back-to-back and been on amoxicillin three times.  I should have known 2 weeks ago when he had a fever of 103 that it was not just a sinus infection and I should have stood up to the doctor who prescribed amoxicillin again, even though he had just finished a course of it!

Anyway, last night he had a fever of 103.2 at 10:30.  The doctor on call said to give him Tylenol and see if that helped and make the call on whether to bring him in in the morning.  This morning it was up to 104 and he was trembling!  We left immediately.  This doctor had the sense to order a chest x-ray.  She saw a spot that she thought could be pneumonia (are you kidding me? of course it’s pneumonia!).  She called his doctor and they discussed whether to admit him to the hospital (I had some serious mommy anxiety going on waiting to hear).  His doctor advised trying a stronger antibiotic and bringing him in to see her in the morning.

He’s feeling better than this morning, but he’s laid around a lot today and cried more than usual.  He also still has a slight fever.  Stupid pneumonia!

…Mother Nature’s gift to teachers!  (Nevermind the fact that we have to make them all up, even if it means teaching until July…We won’t talk about that part).

Earlier in the week, I was slightly jealous of my friends’ good fortune in getting a snow day in their county.  Today, I am the lucky one!  Ben and I are enjoying a day at home together, watching the snow fall.  It’s really beautiful and there is something special about that first snow day of the year.  The fact that it came on a Friday makes it even nicer- a 3-day weekend!

Ben can now identify 4 animals (that we know of): cat, dog, duck and frog.  He can sort of say ”cat” and “dog,” as I mentioned in my last post.  I think he’s trying to say “duck” but it sounds like dog (actually they both sound like “dah.”  But he is pretty consistent about pointing at ducks and saying it.  He can’t say frog, but he has a frog pillow chair and everytime we ask him, “where’s your frog?” he goes and sits on it.  Also, when we point out a frog in a book he looks at his chair.  So cute!  Every other animal still gets called a “dah” or a “ta.”

His favorite part of the day is still bathtime, and he really likes going to daycare, so that’s nice.  He could care less about me when he gets there and when I pick him up, he is really happy to see me, until I start to put on his coat.  Then he knows he’s leaving and starts squirming or crying.

It’s a snowy Sunday morning and Ben is down for a nap.  I’m enjoying sitting inside, working on laundry and a scarf for Ben.  I haven’t posted in a while, so it’s time for an update.  I have to admit I’ve been putting off posting until I can do a spectacular, picture-ridden post like some of my friends do, but let’s be realistic.  I don’t have time to do a perfect post.  So I’ll settle for a post, period.

Ben went for his 1-year checkup a couple of weeks ago.  He was between the 50th and 75th percentile in height (30 3/4″), in the 25th percentile in weight (21.5 pounds), and 25th percentile in head circumference (18″).  Everything checked out fine!

Ben can now say “Da” (Dad), “ta” (cat) and “dah” (dog).  He occassionaly says “mama.”  He knows the difference between dogs and cats, but every other animal is EITHER a dog or a cat!  He is very proud of his ability to identify animals and does so every chance he can.  He has taken to carrying around his stuffed moose and saying “dah” (dog).  He still LOVES his books, especially ones with animals and babies in them. 

I will try to give updates more often, even if they don’t contain lots of pictures!  Bring on the snow days!