Pink Eye

Like many families in daycare, we've had our run-ins with the modern day scourge of conjunctivitis, or PINK EYE. A week ago Friday, I got a call at 9:30 to please come and pick up C because she had goopy eyes. We called the doctor's office and they prescribed Erythromycin ointment over the phone. We dutifully smeared it in her eyes three times a day for a week. Yesterday, I got a call at 1:30--please come and pick up C because it looks like she has conjunctivitis again (still?).

Because you cannot really fight with daycare over the phone about whether or not the discharge coming from your child's eye is, in fact, PINK EYE, I went and picked her and called the doctor's office. They agreed that she should be seen because the PINK EYE should be gone after a week of antibiotics. But, alas, no appointments. So we could either wait and go this morning or go out to the walk-in/ERgent care clinic. I didn't believe she actually had PINK EYE that needed antibiotics, so we opted for the walk-in, hoping I'd be able to go to work today.

Here's what I wanted to have happen:

Dr: What's the problem?
Me: Goopy eye. She was treated for conjunctivitis last week and finished antibiotics on Thursday. She's had a cold and I think her father has a sinus infection. I wonder if her eyes are just draining from her cold?
Dr: It doesn't look like bacterial conjunctivitis--there would be more drainage if it was. I'll write you a note so she can go back to daycare.

Here's what actually happened:

Dr: What's the problem?
Me: Goopy eye. She was treated for conjunctivitis last week and finished antibiotics on Thursday. She's had a cold and I think her father has a sinus infection. I wonder if her eyes are just draining from her cold?
Dr: It doesn't look like bacterial conjunctivitis. Usually the pus is just running down their cheeks with that. And if her case last week was viral, then the antibiotics wouldn't have done anything for it, anyway. I'll write you a prescription for another 5 days of antibiotics and we'll see what that does.
Me: ?????

So my kid, who the doctor verbally indicated probably does not have bacterial conjunctivitis, has an "official" diagnosis of bacterial conjunctivitis, a different flavor of eye ointment to be applied three times daily for the next five days, and a day off from school. I have a not-actually-sick child and a day off from work. I also have a cold--so, at least one of us is actually sick on our sick day.

I'm hoping to get some knitting done on my Owlet for the Knitting Olympics. I figure if I can finish the neckline tonight and get some work done on the body, I may actually have a shot of finishing by the closing ceremonies.

C also seems to enjoy cooking, so I think we'll do some of that today as well. I'm thinking maybe we'll make meatloaf and mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables for dinner tonight. It's funny. A year ago, she was helping me cook dinner by sleeping in the sling while I baked. Now, she rifles through the cabinets and bangs on pots with a wooden spoon. She's already on her way to becoming an excellent cook, I think.

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Or a fine eater.

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Decisions, decisions

The cool kids are having the Knitting Olympics and I want to play. However, I have a toddler--well, she's nearly toddling. And she's teething. And she has conjunctivitis.

I need to pick a project before cast-on tonight during the opening ceremonies. And I have it narrowed down to two possibilities: The Woven Kimono Cardigan or the Owlet sweater and a matching hat (scroll down to see the sweater).

If I were childless, I would go with the woven kimono. I've had the pattern and the yarn for a long time...like, since before I got pregnant...and it would definitely be a challenge for me to finish it in 17 days.

But I am not childless. I have a happy, little helper. Which is why I'm thinking Owls. It's not a big project and it's not technically difficult. But I've been knitting a baby hat for close to a month because between brain damage and a child who is in to absolutely EVERYTHING, I haven't been able to knit satisfactory short-rows.

Unfortunately, I don't have yarn for the owls. This is easy to rectify, though, since I unexpectedly get to spend most of the day at home with Miss C(onjunctivitis). She's not acting sick and if I don't let her touch anything, there's no real reason we couldn't go to the yarn store when she wakes up from her nap, is there?

What do you think? Are owls too lame to be Knitting Olympic-worthy? Should I sit this year out? Or should we head out to the Yarn Basket before Daddy gets home from work?

Let me dust things off a bit here...

I have always been a crappy correspondent. I mean well--I really do--but I'm easily distracted and caught up in that thing called life. And time gets away from me...along with other things.

Here's my current distraction:

Buddies


How can anything compete with that degree of cuteness?

C, my little Tadpole, hit the one year mark just a few weeks ago. She is a charming, clever, busy, loving little girl. She's standing and cruising the furniture, but has yet to take her first independent steps. That's OK. They'll be coming soon. I'm not in a hurry, particularly considering the trouble the little mite can stir up without the ability to walk.

It's been quite a year. I still knit, occasionally. It takes much longer to finish things. I'm still knitting the Noro scarf I started the day I went into labor. It's the distraction thing again. Sometimes C just needs a hat. And I have to oblige her. And I'm learning to make dolls. And there's spinning. Plus, I'd really like to learn how to weave...

But all in good time. Right now, keeping track of C is plenty enough most days. And then there are the cats. We lost another this past fall--Gabriel fell ill and was gone within a week. It was really hard on the Beloved, and I think the hardest part was the feeling that we didn't give him enough towards the end of his life. In spite of saying our feelings towards our cats would never change even with the baby...they did. C demands all. And, largely, she gets it. Which means there isn't much left for our rather high-needs cats.

We still have Winston, and (as you can see above) he and C get on quite well. I'm really hoping that her chronic bronchitis is not due to a cat allergy because she loves her "'at." And he loves her right back. Piper remains the crazy cat and mostly hides out in her room, but comes out on occasion. C is not permitted to play with her as we refer to Piper as "Danger Cat." But she tries.

And so things continue. We've cut our first teeth over here in the past week or two and it looks like they're all planning on coming in at once. C hasn't been much for sleeping through the night since I went back to work, but between the teeth and the latest round of lung crud, there is not much sleeping going on at all in this house. I keep saying that I'm going to clean out her bedroom and work on moving her in there, but really? I'd miss night-time cuddles with my girl and I'm not sure I'm ready to boot her out of our room and out of our bed. I keep hoping she'll show some sign of wanting to transition on her own, but no such luck. It will happen eventually, but I don't really want to push it. It really does go by too quickly.

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