Bugged part 2

OK, so here's what I learned about Scabies (anyone with a loved one in a nursing home or a child should take note!):
Scabies is caused by a tiny mite that burrows under the skin and lays its eggs. The itching is caused by an allergic reaction to the mite. The rash is usually found on the hands, arms, legs, and skin folds (behind knees, in elbows). The rash is red and raised, like acne. The rash can be present for two to three weeks after treatment, but no new pustules should appear. The treatment is icky, but easy. Slime the prescription cream all over, from neck to toes including the bottom of the feet (babies should have it applied to their scalp, as well). Eight to fourteen hours after the application, shower or bathe with soap and warm water. Reapply after one week to be sure that the eggs that hatch out are killed. Clothing that was worn from three days before the break out and bedding should be washed in hot water and dried in the dryer at a hot setting. Non washable items (stuffed toys, rugs) should be placed in a plastic bag in the basement or garage until the mites die. Carpeting should be vacuumed thoroughly. For the itching, Benadryl tablets and/or cream should help the symptoms. Family members or people who have close contact with the bugged one should also be treated. The scabies mite that attacks humans will not attack cats or dogs. The mite that attacks cats and dogs does not attack people. Don't let anyone tell you that it was "that dog" or "that cat" that infested your house!
I hate that I caught these things. I look horrible! But maybe what I have learned will help someone else. Scabies is not something that just the poor or dirty person gets. Anyone can get it!

Bugged!

I broke out in a rash Friday evening while I was at work. It's a coarse looking red rash with what looks like blisters in the center. It itches like crazy! It was mostly on my right forearm and hand. I thought I might have caught something from a patient, but Saturday afternoon, when I woke up, I found a small critter crawling on the bed. EEEWWWWWW!!! I put it in a Ziploc bag. The rash had spread to my forehead, neck, left arm and legs.I didn't go in to work Saturday night. Instead, I went to the urgent care center. The doctor took one look at my rash and my little friend and said "You have Scabies!". EEEWWWWWW!!!!! I got a prescription for some nasty smelling bug killing cream. I had to smear it all over me and leave it on overnight. This morning, I washed it off. I don't know if it was supposed to pull the bugs out of my skin, but the rash is more diffuse. Still itches like crazy. I look like I have some flesh eating plague! Benadryl has become my best friend. I jusdt hope it's gone by Friday. I wouldn't want to go back to work and creep everyone out!

On the road again

Whirlwind tours!I love them! I got home from work last Wednesday, unloaded the car, packed my smaller bag, and took off again Thursday morning. I met Catie at her house and we headed south to Charlotte for her baby shower. Back on the road Sunday to get Catie home. On to Huntington to see Elliott, Samantha, and Bryce. Home again Monday afternoon. Whew! It's a good thing I like my car, I practically live in it!

Friday, we took Ma to lunch for her (late) birthday. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory. Really good food, but much richer than we are used to. After lunch, we walked around Southpark Mall. Southpark is what they call "upscale". For us regular people, that means expensive. We looked in a couple of childrens' specialty shops. Ma picked up a little blue dress, 6 month size. I can't imagine why anyone would pay $129 for a dress that a baby will wear for such a short time. Not to mention what the baby will get on the dress! I've decided that a store like that is for two types of people: grandmas who buy that stuff for their little angels, and grandmas like me who look for ideas, then make cute stuff for their little angels. We use the money we save to add to their college accounts!

The baby shower was a lot of fun. Carol, Catie's friend for forever (kindergarten, at least), was the hostess. We had a veggie tray and a fruit tray that the three of us put together, a chicken nugget tray from Chic-fil-a, and a beautiful cake that Carol's mother made. Kathy, Ma, Carol's mom Joyce, and I were the "old ladies" of the group. Carol, Alissa, Alicia, Becca, and Catie were the "young 'uns". The girls have been friends since at least middle school. Catie, Becca, and Carol go back to kindergarten. They talked about being married, having kids, careers, and old times at school. When the name Josh came up, we all laughed. Josh was the boy who was in the same day care class with Catie. When she was 18 months old, he bit her arm. When she told me about "that mean old Josh", her eyes were huge and she was very serious. She finished telling me about the bite by saying "and that was not nice". I reminded the girls of that story and they all recounted their "Josh stories". We planned for the shower to last about 2 hours. Before we knew it, 4 hours had passed! It's amazing to see how 5 girls can get together after two or three years and pick up right whee they left off! Good friends are a treasure and Catie is very rich!

We didn't spend as much time with Ma and Pop as I would have liked, but it wasn't possible. I always fear that each time I see them will be the last. They are both 85, Pop has had a stroke, Ma has chronic heart problems. I doubt that one will live long without the other. That's just the way they are.

We made the drive home in record time. Catie was able to take a much needed nap while I went to see Sam and Bryce. Bryce is getting to be a chubby little fellow! He's got chubby cheeks and little rolls on his legs. He has fussy time. I explained that to Sam. It's the time of evening when babies feel the need to decompress. They cry and kick for no apparent reason. Bryce had just eaten, he had burped, he was dry and warm. He just felt the need to fuss! Eventually, he fell asleep on my lap. I am smitten!

Today, I hung the curtains over Abbey's closet. They're perfect! Then, I drove home. I'm tired!

Elliott's hat

It was a beautiful, blustery fall day. Three year old Elliott was standing beside the driveway while I unloaded groceries from the car. Elliott usually wore overalls (the straps make a great handle for mom to grab) and today was no exception. He was wearing a blue baseball cap, too. Well, not really wearing it, he was throwing it up in the air and trying to catch it. The part of our yard where he was standing was next to a vacant lot that was overgrown with briers. I told Elliott to quit throwing his hat because the wind would blow it into the woods. Elliott paid me no attention. I told him again, with a little more edge to my voice, that he needed to STOP throwing his hat. After delivering another handful of grocery bags to the kitchen, I came back to the car. Elliott's hat was gone. I asked him where it was and he pointed to the woods. There was his hat, stuck fast in a clump of briers.
"Elliott!" I said in exasperation. "Now I'll have to go get it! You stand RIGHT HERE until I get your hat."
There was no way to get directly to the hat. I had to walk about 5 feet further down the driveway, then pick my way around until I got to it. I retrieved the hat and turned around to pick my way out of the woods. There, hot on my heels, was Elliott!
"ELLIOTT! I told you to stay put until I got your hat. Now you turn around and go right back the way you came!"
Elliott attempted to turn around, but was tangled in a long, wiry brier. He pulled and tugged, but could not get loose. He looked at me, his bright blue eyes as big as saucers. "Holy shit, Momma, I'm stuck!"
I put his hat over my face and turned my head. I couldn't let him see me laugh, that would only make him think that what he said was OK! When I regained my composure, I untangled him and we picked our way out of the woods.
Out of the mouths of babes..........

Laundry

I spent part of the weekend helping Catie do laundry. I could spend another weekend getting it caught up. She HATES doing laundry! I suppose part of that hatred is my fault. I used to fuss about laundry. When the kids were big enough to put their dirty clothes in a hamper, the rule was: not in a hamper, not getting washed! Don't tell me three days later that you need a certain shirt tomorrow. Wash day is Saturday! As they got older, clothes had to be in my sewing room, sorted, by 5pm Friday or they wouldn't get washed. I do laundry once a week. Period. The kids all wash clothes on an as needed basis. Drives me nuts!
Laundry is a part of my family history. When my grandfather died, three months before Ma was born, my grandmother had no real marketable skills. Add to that, she "weren't from around here". She was an Irish immigrant. To support her family during the depression, she "took in laundry". She had an old wringer washer and a clothes line. She would wash and hang out clothes, iron and fold them. If itwas cold or raining, the clothes were hung on the porch. When she got her first "automatic" washer and dryer, I'll bet she felt like she had died and gone to heaven!
Ma was funny about laundry, too. NOBODY touched her washer or dryer! Laundry was done on Saturday (as it was in my house....laundry day is hereditary!). Wash, dry, fold, iron. As we grew up, Kathy and I were allowed to help with the laundry, especially the fold and put away part! When she was 75 years old, with her left wrist in an external fixator, she was washing,starching, and ironing Bud and Russ' shirts. No matter how much I fussed (Let them do their own wash!), she continued doing their laundry. To this day, she just celebrated her 85th birthday, she's still washing, starching, ironing Bud's and Pop's shirts. I think she enjoys it.
I used to hate laundry. When we first got married, we had to take everything to the laundrymat.It was a chore! When we bought our house, I got a washer and dryer. Pure joy! Saturday was laundry day, as I explained above. I'm only washing for Dave and me now, with the occasional load of Chris' stuff. Chris is welcome to do his own laundry, provided that the washer and dryer are empty when I need them. Ironing is not something I do regularly. I believe that God gave us permanent press fabrics for a reason! I don't mind doing laundry anymore. It's a satisfying feeling to see the piles of dirty clothes become neatly folded stacks of clean clothes or a row of neatly hung shirts. Laundry day can be a day well spent.

Vacation!!

Fro the first part of my vacation, I did laundry. Lots of laundry. Mostly tiny pink things. Catie has received a ton of baby clothes from friends and, of course, we have gone shopping! All of baby Abbey's clothes have been washed, folded/hung, and sorted into sizes. The 0-3 and 3-6 month sizes are in Abbey's room. The rest will be stored until she grows into them. I've finished making 2 sheets for Abbey's bed. Next week, I'll make 2 more, the curtains, and the bedskirt. When Catie gets the fabric, I'll make curtains to cover her closet door (the sliding door never stayed on the track, so they took the door down. Dave helped to put the furniture for Abbey's room together. It's going to be a really neat room. Who would ever have thought of painting a baby's room hot pink and black with white trim?

We went to see Elliott, Sam and Bryce. Bryce is already 2 weeks old! He's such a cutie! He has long legs and even longer toes! Just like Elliott, he has "fingers for toes". He has a little blond fuzz all over his head. It's almost long enough to be a baby mullet! He got a little fussy, so Sam took him and fed him. Elliott brought him back to visit us after he finished eating. He was kind enough to spit up on my shirt. I guess I have been accepted by Bryce! Elliott is a good daddy. He gets up with Sam during the night and does diaper duty. He handles Bryce confidently and seems to know what he's doing. It's hard to imagine my baby having his own baby.

A new blessing

Bryce Landon Curry was born at 10:29 am yesterday morning. He weighed 7lbs 7oz and was 20 inches long. From the pictures I've seen, he's a beautiful little boy. Mom and dad are doing well. They will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.
Elliott called me at about 10:30 Saturday night to tell me that Sam's water broke (while they were at work!) and they were on their way to the hospital. I was at work, 5 hours away. We kept in touch with text messages. At 3:30, Elliott let me know that Sam had been given an epidural. He wanted to know "how much longer it will take?". With a great deal of authority, I said "he'll be here at 10:25". How was I to know I would be so close. I guess you just have to know these things when you're the Queen! Actually, a 12 hour labor is not bad for a first baby.
Babies are such miracles. It's hard to imagine how two little cells can come together, then divide until a whole new person is formed. They are blank slates. They can become anything they want. I pray for love and wisdom for little Bryce's parents. They have been blessed beyond measure.