A First for Elizabeth

Our little lady has her first ear infection! I'm so delighted that we avoided toddler ear infections and that she can say, "Mommy, my ear really hurts." The kicker was when she said she WANTED to go to the doctor. Going to the doctor is not her cup of tea, so often when I know she's faking some pain or tiredness, I'll threaten to take her to the doctor right away and she suddenly feels better or less tired. (I know, it's awesome parenting, threatening your kid and manipulating them. I'll write a book someday.)

If you're interested, what follows is the whole story.
If not, please don't read on. It will cause no offense.

We hosted an egg decorating playgroup with our friends this afternoon at 4.

We gather with them every Wednesday afternoon for playgroup, taking turns at each home. This week, as is customary in the Ashe home, and after the egg dying, the girls were playing Elefun.

There was a lot of squealing and giggling and hustling to catch butterflies, and then suddenly E said her ear hurt. I didn't worry too much about it at first, but the crying/fussing about it went on for a while. And she pretty much removed herself from any more activity with her friends. (This, if you know E, is quite strange.) So I called Colin and told him to rush home to be with Brian so I could take E to the ER. (Of course it was just after 5!) Azilah wisely suggested giving E some Tylenol to take the edge off the pain. (Thanks, Azilah! Below: Azilah with Brian)

Our friends left early, all extending well wishes and making us feel loved. I switched on a program for E to watch while I started to get food ready for Brian and dinner for us to take to the hospital. When Colin got home, E was feeling calmer, so we decided to eat together and "wait and see." Brian was ready to sleep right after dinner (around 6:15) and E had gotten up early, so we had her get ready for bed too. As an experiment, I made her lay on the side of her painful ear while I read her a story. I figured if it hurt again, we were outta here to see a doctor. The pain came pretty quickly, so Colin put Brian down, E got back into her clothes, and I gathered up our things - a book for me and Leapster for E- in case the night got long.

Fortunately, all told, it was a seamless visit to the ER. It always involves waiting, so if your expectations are low, you're in for an acceptable time! E did great. The Motrin they gave her took the edge off and she was acting normal as we walked around Walgreens waiting for her prescription to be filled. She'll be tired tomorrow; 9:30 is a late bedtime for our Elizabeth. In fact, she'd fallen asleep in the car on our way to the hospital! Poor child.

I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the cuddle time we had on the bed there. She explained and we played Leapster games and I got to tell her some stories to keep her mind off the ear pain while she awaited the blessed drugs. It was precious. I love our little girl so much.

Brian - 10 months

Our little guy is now 2 months shy of his first birthday. This seems quite unbelievable to me, and yet so very believable at the same time. What's our little man up to now?

• has pulled himself to standing several times
• if set up standing, he can hang that way for a long time
• will take steps while holding on to your hands
• "cruises" around his learning table
  
• crawls well ... and fast if he wants to get away from you!

• still loves to eat, and now joins us for our casseroles, meatloaves, etc.
• weaning has begun - nurses 3x/day and has cow's milk with dinner
• loves toys with wheels and any type of ball
  
• routine sleep schedule! - naps at 9am and 1pm, 7pm-6am nighttime
• still madly in love with his sister

• no major separation anxiety, but loves his mommy
  
• makes lots of funny blowing and raspberry sounds
  
• babbles a fair amount: ma-mas, ba-bas, and da-das
• now has 6 teeth, four on top, two on the bottom

And now, for your enjoyment, a video of some of those raspberries ... with a surprising finale!

Shout Out

A shout out to my friends Veronica and Gyda, who have really helped me out today!

Veronica smiled in the midst of 5 or 6 loads of laundry (seriously, who does that?!), when I entered the laundry room quite grumpy this morning. She lifted my spirits!

Gyda had Elizabeth over for a playdate with her daughter this afternoon. As a result my house no longer looks like quite the disaster it did this morning. I've even lit a candle to make it smell nice. :)

Thank you, ladies!!!! I'm very grateful for you today.

About Me

I've seen people post lists of things about themselves on their blogs before, so I thought I'd do the same here. Allow me to introduce myself:

1. I was born in Illinois, raised in Pittsburgh, currently live in Cambridge, MA, and will move back to Pittsburgh soon. (And I went to college in Pittsburgh too.)
   
2. I talk a lot.
3. I really love the way that snow looks on the tree branches.
4. Softball is my favorite sport to play.
5. I prefer the mountains to the beach, but that doesn't mean I don't like the beach.
6. I speak Spanish.
7. I spent two separate years of my life out of the country in Germany (age 12) and Argentina (age 18)
8. I have two children, one boy, one girl.
9. My husband still loves me after 6-1/2 years of marriage; it's a miracle!
10. I have two siblings, both married, both have kids, and both currently live in our hometown.
11. I love to eat and particularly enjoy noodles with marinara sauce.
12. My hair got curly at puberty.
13. I really like bagging groceries, it appeals to my organizational bent.
14. As organized as I want to be, my house has been pretty messy and dirty since my second was born!
15. Someday I want to visit Alaska and Australia.
16. I turn 30 in June.
17. I like to read nonfiction more than fiction, but I always enjoy fiction.
18. Sometimes I wonder what I'll be like as an old lady.
19. I'm a Christian who used to be a hardcore people-pleasing legalist.
    
20. I'm not what I ought to be, but I'm not what I used to be, either. Y'all can thank God for that with me. :)

I started this list a long time ago, closer to when I began this blog. I found it burred in my post list and decided to add a few more things and post. Anything else you'd like to know about me?

Preschool Keyboarding

There's no doubt about it, folks, our children will likely type most of their school assignments. They may even know how to type before they can write in cursive. So, to encourage E to get to know where the letters are on a keyboard, she's begun her own "wish list" that she types while I tell her the letters to spell the words. Here she is in action:

The list is currently at 4 items. She has a birthday coming up in May. I wonder how many things she'll come up with before then? One can want so many things, even at age 4!

Super Strength: well, maybe not really

Yesterday as we were coming back from Trader Joe's, B in the stroller and E on her bike, we passed by the MIT furniture exchange. It's a place you can donate or buy furniture and other household items if you're an MIT student looking to furnish a place for cheap. There was a truck just pulling in and we decided to watch it back up to the loading dock. As this was happening, I explained how backing up to a loading dock like that makes it easy to carry items into the building.

Elizabeth asked, "Mommy, how do they carry a couch in? Do two people have to help carry it?"

"Yep," I answered.

"I could probably pick up a couch all by myself," she responded, followed quickly by, "Well, maybe a small chair... ."

World Leaders or Fraternity Brothers?

Currently on the CNN homepage.



In reference to this article.
(top) US President, Italian PM, President of Russia
(bottom) an unidentified Asian leader