Posts Tagged ‘boys’
A Memorial Day Memory
Monday, May 30th, 2011Um, What is Hoof and Mouth Disease?
Thursday, September 10th, 2009I have never heard of hoof and mouth disease until the doctor diagnosed my youngest son over the phone. I frantically dialed our on-call pediatrician Monday morning after sores and blisters popped up all over his mouth, tongue and throat during the holiday weekend. She said I didn’t need to take him to the emergency room as long as he was eating and drinking, but instructed I should bring him to the office first thing Tuesday morning so his regular doctor could confirm the diagnosis.
After hoof and mouth left her lips, I pretty much didn’t hear another word. She sounded like the teacher you hear but never see on those Charlie Brown cartoon specials. Every time the bald little boy wearing that goofy yellow t-shirt with the zig zag brown stripe asked for help on his homework, the viewer never understood what she was saying.
Me: “Um, What is hoof and mouth disease?”
Doctor: “Waht, wah, wahh, wahh, waht.”
Me: “I’m sorry. What is it?”
Doctor: “Waht, like the flu, wah, wahh, with blisters, waht, very contagious.”
Me: “So, there’s nothing I can do to prevent my other son from getting it?”
Doctor: “Waht, wah, wahh, wahh, waht, no.”
Me: “How long is it going to last? It’s already been nearly a week.”
Doctor: “Waht, usually, wahh, wahh, 10 days.”
After the initial shock wore off, I tried to conentrate on the conversation a little better. The doctor went on to say hoof and mouth disease is extremely common and that all babies and toddlers get it. She even said she was surprised neither Latham or Reichen had contracted the virus before now.
I made my husband take Latham Tuesday morning for the official diagnosis. I couldn’t stand to hear the doctor say hoof and mouth disease again. David said as soon as the doctor walked in the exam room, he said it: hoof and mouth.
As soon as I put the boys down for their afternoon nap, I hopped on the world wide web to research this nasty little disease further and here’s just some of the fun I found:
According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, Hoof and Mouth Disease, a.k.a. Hand, Foot, and Mouth, is a mild, contagious viral infection common in young children. Characterized by sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet, hand-foot-and-mouth disease is most commonly caused by a coxsackievirus.
Here’s the part that gets me: there’s no specific treatment for this disease. I just have to watch my little boy suffer. The website suggests you can reduce the risk of infection by practicing good hygiene, such as washing your hands often and thoroughly.
I am an admitted freak show hand washer. In fact, I wash their hands so often and so thoroughly that I’m surprised they have hands left to wash. If my boys can get this horrible virus, anyone can.
It will be one week today that Latham has been battling hoof and mouth disease. Reichen just started his fever yesterday, which means the sores will be showing up any day now. If my time line is correct, we will be dealing with this disease for about 3 weeks before the boys are better.
Fun times ahead. Fun.
I’m Just a Girl Living in Their Stinky World
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009The last time my husband let one rip, I thought I could taste it. It not only singed my nose hairs, I’m pretty sure it impaired my sense of smell for at least a few days.
You would think I would be used to it by now: the smell. I’m not. Not at all. In fact, it gets me every time. My eyes water, my nose runs, and I start coughing – so much so that I gag and honesty, there are time when gagging leads to throwing up in my mouth just a little bit. I know one day, a little bit of barf is going to turn into a lot of bit of barf and I hope I’m near a bathroom when it does. Although, the porcelain potty isn’t completely necessary. I’ve turned a perfectly innocent plant into a puke pot and while that situation wasn’t ideal, it did the job.
My husband chuckles when he blows a windy – that’s what my grandma calls passing gas. I remember when I was a kid, I would tattle every time my older brother would blow one near me. My grandma would sit him down on her floral printed couch and ask, “Did you blow a windy in her face?” I always giggled to myself when she asked it. I had never heard any one use that term when referring to the bodily function. I still haven’t.
David doesn’t laugh because he does it on purpose. In fact, he goes out of his way to walk out of the room if he knows he has to commit the diabolical deed. He snickers because if one does pop out unexpectedly, my reaction is so violent. He admits his gas is smelly, but denies it’s as bad as the gass his two boys pass. Here’s the thing he doesn’t realize: not only to my two toddlers look exactly like daddy, they smell like him too.
David gets a little grossed out when we go to check on our boys before we go to bed and they are soaked in sweat. If you didn’t know any better, you would think they were having a pool party in their rooms instead of sleeping.
“It’s kind of gross they are so sweaty,” David says to me nearly every night.
And nearly every night I respond, “That’s how sweaty you get.”
Or Davd mentions, “Look how much they slobber. They soak through their pillow case every night.”
And I reply, “You do, too.”
He doesn’t believe me. I guess waking up in the middle of the night because he drenched the sheets with sweat and slobber isn’t enough proof for him. But it is for me. I see it. I smell it. I live it. I’m just a girl living in their stinky world.
I Can’t Take the Taunting
Thursday, August 13th, 2009There is a pile of pictures taunting me and it’s doing it in a nanny-nanny-boo-boo whiny kid kind of way. You know the kid I’m talking about – the playground bully with the really big head who thinks he’s king of the jungle gym. The one who wipes his runny nose all over innocent bystanders, including my son, just before shoving him down so he can slither down the slide first. The kid who annoyingly keeps asking what you’re doing, what you’re doing, what you’re doing, and whose mom could care less since she is obviously too busy talking and texting her friends about what a jerk she married.
The pictures have been sitting on my bedroom dresser for months and I put them there on purpose. I’m the first one to admit that I’m a neat freak. I’m a fan of the philosophy: there’s a place for everything and everything in its place. I knew if I set the pictures in a prominent spot, they would be in an album lickity split. But then I keep snapping and printing, and snapping and printing more and more memories of my little men which means instead of putting the pile away, I add to it.
I really think I have an undiagnosed disorder – one where I am driven to print every, single, solitary picture of my two toddlers, even the ones some might consider unflattering such as the one of Reichen squeezing his eyes really tight while trying to show momma he can toot, or the one of Latham stumbling into the diaper genie while trying to toddle. I even printed the one of the boys where Reichen is quite literally trying to smother Latham with his own little hands. I must print them all. I must.
I just hope I can get some kind of help for my undiagnosed disorder before the pile grows to be 15 years old. I’m not even kidding when tell you my mother-in-law did not put one single picture in an album for that many years. When I met her, she had an entire dresser full of photos. She would cut me off at at this point in the story to tell you they were all dated and in somewhat of an order, of course, but even she would admit not one of those photos had a home.
I see how it happens though. You’re so busy living your crazy life that it’s hard to document it. All I know is I’m tired of those photos taunting me and if I have to stuff them in a dresser to stop that nasty nanny-nanny-boo-boo business, I will. In fact, that sounds like a really good solution for that crappy kid at the park, too. I’m sure his mom wouldn’t even notice.
“Have you Ever Liked the Way you Looked in a Swimsuit?”
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009“Have you ever liked the way you looked in a swimsuit?”
It’s an honest question only a good friend can ask – a friend like Jill. She’s the kind of girl who tells it like it is and doesn’t sugar coat it. Jill has three little ones under four years old and honestly just doesn’t have the time or energy to hear me go on and on and on about how I can not lose the last ten pounds of baby weight. I mean when Jill’s two year old is smashing crackers into the hair of her one year old while her four year old is clinging to her leg and begging to play video games, I totally get why she doesn’t want to listen to me whine.
The grumbling began though when I told Jill my husband and I are taking a trip to Hawaii. It’s been four years and two kids since we’ve taken a real vacation together – a vacation where you leave the babies with Grandma and cry all the way to the airport. (Don’t even get me started on that topic. The mommy guilt I feel about leaving them is gut-retching.) “It doesn’t matter what I do” I told Jill, “I could eat doughnuts and lay on the couch every day and not gain weight or I could eat veggies and work out every day and not lose it either.” “It’s so frustrating!” “All I want to do” I complained, “ is look good in a swimsuit!”
“Have you ever liked the way you looked in a swimsuit?” Jill said while peeling her oldest son off of her.
For a split second, I was stunned. The question stung a little bit but in a good way. You know how you feel the day after a really good work out? Your muscles are so sore that it even hurts when you squat to put your fanny on the pot to pee? Yup, the question stung like that.
After I recovered from the initial shock, I thought about the answer. “No,” I replied. “I’ve never really liked the way I’ve looked in a swimsuit.” Not even, I thought to myself, when I was sixteen and perfect.
“There you go,” Jill said. “”No one likes the way they look in a swimsuit.” She continued, “You look great. You work out. You eat well. Your clothes fit. You’re just obsessed about a number on the scale. Stop worrying about it and have a fun on vacation with your husband.”
Jill’s right. I guess it’s nice having the kind of friend who slaps some sense into you from time to time – even if it stings.
Boys Stink. Literally.
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009I live in a house of boys. I love every single one of them, but if I’m being honest – they stink. Literally. Day, after day, after day, my two little boys plead to play outside in the summer sun. We run, wrestle, ride bikes, swing and sweat. Yes, I said sweat. I know I’m not supposed to say it. I think I’m only supposed to admit to maybe perspiring or perhaps glistening but when 95 degrees combines with 95% humidity there is no other way to say it – I’m sweaty.
After I throw the boys in the bath, feed them and tuck them in for night, night – it’s me time. I get out all the yummy smelling bath and body products, light a candle and try to recoup some of my girlishness.
My favorite products right now are from a luxury line called Lollia. This pretty bottle contains bubble bath in a fragrance called Relax – my favorite scent. Orchid, vanilla, honey and amber are blended with moisturizing olive fruit, avocado, almond oils and vitamin E.
The candles from this collection not only smell delicious, they are gorgeous and dreamy. From the crystal ornaments to the signature mix and match patterns that adorn each glass, it’s hard to choose just one product.
The hand creme Lollia is perfect and believe me when I tell you I’ve tried them all. This ultra rich indulgence includes only the best ingredients to pamper your hard working hands, including macadamia nut and avocado oil to comfort and soothe skin. Aloe and shea butter provide moisture, and other essences leave skin deliciously fresh.
After all, I may live in a house of boys but I don’t have to smell like one.
Erin O'Brien on Oh, Dana Kellin How You Dissapoint Me.
I must disagree with you review on Dana Kellin for Target! I thought the pieces were very pretty. I purchased some pieces as gifts for my mother-in-law and mom and...Kelsey on Would A J.Crew Model Wear It?
You will rock this look. I know it.scott on Husbandism #47
i totally agree with dave! why do you put my friend thru such torture?kelsey on Husbandism #47
ha ha! i get "why do you watch this crap, you are an educated, smart woman." what ben says EVERYTIME i am watching ANYTHING on Bravo, especially Real...Jill on Birchbox Beauty
Love this! I want one! I'll have to keep this in mind for future gift ideas.