It has been a busy few days at the Pudding Ranch. Last Thursday we had Parent/Teacher Conferences at school, and those went pretty well. It appears that Meredith takes after me in the Disorganization department, but what she lacks in order she makes up for in creative writing. Harper rarely eats her lunch (as evidenced by the nearly full box she returns home with each afternoon), but she’s rocking the math problems. All is well.
On Friday, I took Harper to have her hearing checked. I’ve reached a point where I no longer think it’s cute when she misinterprets what I’m saying. (Roast = Toast. Miss Debbie = Miss Daddy. Haircut = Bear Cub. (Why in the hell would I ever say that I’m in desperate need of a bear cub?)) According to the audiologist, her hearing is phenomenal, although she does have quite a bit of negative pressure in her eustachian tubes. (Airhead jokes are not welcome here.) Eventually, this might lead to the removal of tonsils/adenoids, but until she begins to complain about pain or starts experiencing chronic sinus infections, we’re just going to pretend that everything is A-ok!
On Saturday, Meredith woke up with an explosive cough. We took her to the doctor, where she was diagnosed with parainfluenza, or The Croup. She was given a cough suppressant, a pain killer, and a steroid. The steroid, which makes her act nuts, has been classified as one of the top five worst tasting medicines of all time, but our pediatrician has learned that if you chase the medicine with a green lollipop, the taste immediately goes away. Red lollipops will not work. For reasons completely unknown to everyone, the lollipop has to be green. I learned Saturday afternoon that when one is looking for green lollipops, the most difficult thing in the world to find is green lollipops. BUT, find them I did, and yes. Crappy medicine + green lollipop = Tolerable. Excellent. (She took her last dose today, and we have one lollipop to spare.)
Sunday. After church we worked on the house and Jeff’s parents came over for dinner. I made rice bowls with tomatoes and corn and beans and WHEE! EVERYONE LOVES THAT I’M A VEGETARIAN!!! NO ONE IS STRESSED ABOUT IT AT ALL!!! (Eight months and going strong. Did I mention that we now have Baby Back Rib Chips in the house? Crazy.)
Yesterday morning found Meredith and Jeff at the orthodontist at 8:00. At 10:00, my mom came up and she and the girls and I went to see Never Say Never. And then I went home and got all crabby on my Facebook page because: In a world of Justin Bieber haters, I do NOT hate Justin Bieber. I know! (I’m forty, meaning I’m old enough to be his mother’s older sister.) You know, I’m tired of people hating someone just because it’s fun/popular/whatever. (It would be easy for me to hate Glenn Beck. VERY easy. But I don’t! Life? Short!)
Today? Today I’ve been volunteering at the school and working on the house. It seems that Meredith is having a friend over this weekend, and we haven’t really done that in a few years, so it’s time to clean bathroom floors and put away laundry and all of the other crap that I tend to hate doing.
Did you know that I’m giving away light bulbs? Because I am. And I would love for you to win one. ‘ ‘ ‘text/javascript’>
If you had to coerce a small child into taking prednisone, I’d say you’ve earned that leftover lollipop.
Ruth–You totally guessed it.
The funny thing? She has to take a tablespoon of it, so she stands with it over the sink for nearly a minute before yelling, “I am MEREDITH!!!” and then she throws it back and immediately puts the lollipop on her tongue. Little weirdo.
That’s exactly how I take my medicine.
Ooo, we just got over a bought of prednisone with our 2 1/2 year old. The first time we had to do it in October, it was hell on earth. However, our child has decided to be weird in the one way that is extremely helpful and “like” the medicine. Like, he would request it. I have no idea, but he did the same thing a week later with amoxicillin, so I guess no complaints.
Is Harper old enough for Mrs. Piggle Wiggle? There’s a story about I-thought-you-said-itis that her mishearings reminds me of:
http://books.google.com/books?id=-97Bf_ikCDIC&lpg=PA22&ots=WDguBtyOki&dq=mrs.%20piggle%20wiggle%20i%20thought%20you%20said&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false
Regions Bank is full of green lollipops.
I think I know what you mean about JB. I loved the Monkees when I was little! My parents didn’t care. Why do all my friends want their kids to listen to the National or whatever? My 9yo pretends he doesn’t have Bieber fever but I hear him singing.
Yikes! My kids’ houseguests are the only motivation I have for cleaning. I mean, that’s good in a way but also very, very sad.
If you freak out before the friend comes over remember I am in that corner with you. Last post – you could totally get away with the curly cues – you’re forty!
Ha ha! I just want to say that cleaning bathroom floors and doing laundry and all that crap must be the universal pre-sleepover chores because I just sat down after having done the exact same things for my daughter’s sleepover tomorrow night. It helps to have feel a kindred spirit (and not just the lower back pain I usually feel after those chores!)
The only good thing about laundry & tidying is that you find money in the pockets, and missing stuff on the floor. I found my husband that way.
Busy few days you’ve had. I do the same thing when my children have friends over. The irony is the kids don’t even notice.
It’s funny because just the other day I was driving my lamborghini 88 MPH when the flux capacitor when BZZZZT and WHAMMO I was back in the 1920s. Only I wasn’t sure I was actually in the 1920s until this morning when I read that one of your daughters is infested with The Croup. So, there it is. 1920s. Thanks for verifying.
My son (age 6) doesn’t “hear” right either–we had his hearing tested (and he had tubes, adenoids & tonsils removed) and none of those are the problem. They believe it is a “processing problem–in the brain. GREAT! No quick fix for that. Did you consider it already?
Misinterpretation is an art, not an affliction. I fondly remember Littlest doing stretches on my Ogre Mat.
i’ll take a bear cub if you have an extra…
Also get any lollipops, not only green :)
and beeears!!!
I don’t hate Justin Bieber because he’s popular and fun. I hate Justin Bieber because hysterically crazed tween-aged JB fans with access to telephones and texting might be the singularly most annoying population on the planet to a radio DJ. That said, I don’t actually hate him. He’s pretty talented for a tween pop star, and a very pretty little girl :)