February 22, 2010

Laughter and Tears

Saturday, Owen’s cold was so awful that he had a fever of 103.1 degrees.  I panicked, of course, and called my mother for advice.

Since my younger sister and brother still live at home with my parents, they often answer the telephone.  One of them looked at the Caller ID, saw my phone number and gave the phone to Dawson who was staying with my parents for the weekend.

The phone rang once and I heard my sister say, “Dawson, it’s for you.”  She passed the cordless to him.

“Hello?”  Dawson said.

“Hi Dawson, it’s Mom.  Can I talk to Grandma, please?” I asked.

My little boy, funny child that he is, yelled at his aunt, “It’s not for me! It’s for Grandma, you twit!”

I laughed and laughed until my mother got on the phone, and she was laughing, too.  The two of us were in tears over the situation.

“Where did he learn the word ‘twit’?” I asked.

“Probably from Auntie Rachel!” Mom howled.

My mother then told me that she was talking to my brother earlier in the day, and Frankie was giving her a hard time about his curfew.  She told him if he didn’t like the rules he was more than welcome to move out and pay rent.

“I told Frankie he had no room to talk when he’s living here rent-free, and Dawson said, ‘Grandma, he has a room!’” she said, laughing.

After the laughter subsided, I asked my mom what to do about the fever and she suggested infant Tylenol and a cold washcloth on his forehead to keep him from overheating.  I had already given him a dose of the infant medicine but had not considered the washcloth.  She told me to try that and to call the weekend care phone number at the clinic.

The nurse suggested the same things my mother had, and it’s nice to know that I can still rely on my mom, even when I’m in panic mode.  It’s been a long time since Dawson has had a fever, so I’m not surprised I had forgotten all the remedies.

Thankfully, Owen’s fever dropped down to 100.5 two hours later and he was feeling much better.  Good thing Dawson had his comedy down, I needed the laughter through the tears!

February 20, 2010

Is Winter Over Yet?

Last week I had some meetings with an admissions counselor at the college I will be attending beginning in June.  I’ve been accepted into school to finish my degree in Business Administration/Health Care Management.  Since my husband was working, I took Owen and Dawson to our former daycare provider while I attended my first appointment.

Dawson was happy to see his old pals once again.  Owen adjusted well but he refused the bottle and our daycare person was concerned.  I’m still nursing Owen, and he prefers breastfeeding over bottle feeding.  He refuses the bottle when my husband tries to feed him, too.  I’m sure with more practice he’ll learn quickly.

The boys were only at daycare two days last week and now this week Owen has caught his first cold.  It’s a miserable cold, too.  His eyes are watering, he sneezes and coughs often and his poor little nose is running all the time.  I am so upset that he got sick.  I can just picture all the other kids touching him and coughing on him.  Ick.

Owen’s 4-month well baby visit was scheduled for yesterday, and I kept the appointment so that our pediatrician could make sure the cold wasn’t something worse, like RSV.  I’ve been hearing a lot about that virus and how awful it is for infants who catch it.  Dr. Reed said his lungs sound fine, not at all like RSV.  She explained that catching a bug will just help his immune system.  I’m still sad he is suffering through this.

Even when he’s feeling sick he tries to crack a smile for his mother.  It’s so sweet.  He’s nursing more often now, which will help him stay hydrated.  Our doctor suggested a small amount of pedialyte just to be safe.  Owen isn’t a fan of the orange flavor but he did take a little bit of it down.

Dawson seems to only have a few sniffles.  He’s spending the weekend at my parents’ house because my father promised to take him sledding.  Dawson loves hanging out with Grandpa Frank.  I’m happy for the relief.  With Owen not feeling well I’ve spent most of my time feeding and rocking him.  The housework is piling up, but hopefully I can find a few moments to tackle the laundry today.

I’m trying to get a jump start on Spring  cleaning.  I’m sick of looking at all the things that need to be done!  I can’t wait for winter to be over!

February 14, 2010

S-A-TUR-DAY Night!

Yeah, I’ve got the Bay City Rollers song stuck in my head.

This week has been busy.  Between Dawson and school and housework and constantly nursing and entertaining Owen, I barely have time to do anything fun.  Me time does not exist in my world. I had hoped for a dull Saturday, a day to lounge around and do nothing important.

Then, I remembered Dawson had basketball at 11 a.m., his friend Madeline’s birthday party at noon, and this evening Doug and I were going out for a Valentine’s Day dinner. The dinner was held at the church where our MOPS meetings are held, and free child care was offered by church volunteers.

Doug and I were so excited to be able to enjoy a meal with friends, and we actually got to eat together, at the same time.  Usually one of us is holding Owen while the other person eats.  After dinner, the church organizers set up a square dancing event.  The Wheel N’ Deal Square Dancers of Stevens Point came out to show our group how to do a heel-toe-do-si-do and other dances.  It was amusing.  I hadn’t square danced since 8th grade gym class.

We left shortly after the promenade.  Doug’s not much for dancing so he disappeared when the Rawhide theme song came on. Yes, we know how to rock it, here in Wisconsin.

Tomorrow after church we plan to watch some of the Olympics.  We are sad to that Nodar Kumaritashvili had died.  I couldn’t bring myself to watch the lugers after hearing about this tragic accident.  It’s so scary!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

February 6, 2010

Dana Who?

I’ve been sitting at my laptop for several minutes, contemplating what I will write on here on this blog.  I’m drawing a blank.  Again.  I haven’t been here much these last few weeks.  I am not even sure anyone still reads the blog, considering that I haven’t written in a month.  Dana who?

I could give you a list of excuses as to why I’m not here, but you already know the answer.

Two weeks before Owen was born, I stopped working for BlogHer as a headline editor.  My contract ended and the financial difficulty that has followed has been miserable.  We’ve made drastic changes to our lifestyle, and have become very frugal.  The last thing I wanted to do on maternity leave was hunt for another job when I was nursing and bonding with Owen.

Just after Owen was 3 months, I began my job search only to discover there are no jobs.  The few positions available in the job market here in Wisconsin are being filled quickly.  So many applicants applying for the same jobs.  It’s depressing.

I’m grateful that my husband is still employed, although his company is making cuts, too.  Sixty people were let go in the last month due to this crappy economy.  It makes us both very nervous.  No one is safe from a lay-off.

I’ve been through two interviews this last month.  I was offered a position with one company and completed paperwork, only to find out later that their corporate office decided to down-size.  Several new hires were let go.  I never got to start the job.  The other position was filled by someone with more experience in the field.

Because of this insanity in the job market, I’ve decided to go back to school.  It’s time to finish my degree while I’m not working.  I’ve finished the application process and applied for financing (student loan) and now I wait for acceptance into the program.  I’ve got one year left and it’s now or never.

Dawson is still loving 4K.  He can’t wait to go to school each morning.  He tells me how much he loves his friends and his teacher, and his favorite part of the day is story time.  Last month his class took a field trip to the local library.  Dawson was so excited to check out a book under his very own library card.  We spend a lot of time at the library now that he can use his own card.

Owen is growing leaps and bounds.  He’s barely 4 months old but he weighs 20 pounds.  He’s my mini-linebacker.  Lately he’s been refusing to nurse on one side and is very fussy, mostly in the evening.  I thought he had an ear infection, but his pediatrician thinks he’s just got a preference and he’ll grow out of it.  I hope it happens soon.  Fussy baby makes me a little crazy.

Last month my grandmother’s house burned down.  She passed away in 2005, but my aunt and uncle still lived there as they run the farm.  It was caused by a chimney fire and it ruined the 100-year-old house.  My uncle is staying with his another uncle who lives down the road, and my aunt is staying with my parents.  I’m so thankful they made it out of the house alive.  They lost everything.  It’s devastating.

2010 has not started off on the right foot.