Bennett Marston was born yesterday!
We look forward to seeing pictures of cousin Ellie meeting her new little brother!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Baby Bennett
Addie & Etta are happy to announce the birth of their newest cousin:
Bennett Marston was born yesterday!
We look forward to seeing pictures of cousin Ellie meeting her new little brother!
Bennett Marston was born yesterday!
We look forward to seeing pictures of cousin Ellie meeting her new little brother!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Bumper Bowling
Addie had her first experience at a bowling alley yesterday.
Except she almost didn't have it because I thought the party started at 2. Actually it ended at 2. I am sure I join a vast group of parents who have made that mistake. Usually I am more on top of it though. What can I blame it on... my pregnancy? our chickenpox case? some school stuff that has been on my mind? the fact that I was making a fairly time-consuming and specific triple layer coconut cake plus an entree for bookclub (which was originally supposed to be at my house but relocated due to the pox)? All those things might have played a small part, but really I was just not on top of planning for it like I should have been. We bought the present a week ago, which was good. But I knew Matt would be taking Addie, not me, since I would be busy in the kitchen. And I guess I was not as concerned about timing and driving directions as I would have been had I been the driver.
Speaking of driving directions, last week there was a field trip downtown for Addie's class. It fell on my work day so I got to go. The class took the city bus. I opted to take the car. Both because Addie got a bit queezy on the last bus-trip downtown and had to get off early with her teacher so she did not puke. And because I get queezy on bus trips. So I drove. But I spent what was probably a laughable amount of time on the computer planning out the best place to park. Parking garages were like $16 for 2-3 hours. No way was I going to pay that. There was some street parking, but how much circling would I have to do to find a legal spot? Matt reminded me of a good place to find metered parking. So I had my driving directions, my parking plan, and my walking route - I was set! But then I made the mistake of under-paying the meter and realizing that it printed a slip for 1 hour and we needed more like 2 - 2 1/2. But since they are not coin meters, there is no way to add time on. So I had to swipe my credit card again and start over (since it is not like I could leave the kids in 1 hour to go back and start a new slip). So I did not pay the $16 I was trying to avoid, but I did pay more than I needed to due to a silly mistake. But we got there in time and had fun.
Just like Addie had fun yesterday (even if she was not exactly on time).
I guess afterwords she saw the attached store that sold shoes and such and was curious about bowling and had questions such as:
-do people bowl at their houses? (because why else would they buy their own shoes and ball?)
-is there a bowling class? (where people can go & bowl the whole time?)
She even got a cool personalized bowling birthday party t-shirt!
Except she almost didn't have it because I thought the party started at 2. Actually it ended at 2. I am sure I join a vast group of parents who have made that mistake. Usually I am more on top of it though. What can I blame it on... my pregnancy? our chickenpox case? some school stuff that has been on my mind? the fact that I was making a fairly time-consuming and specific triple layer coconut cake plus an entree for bookclub (which was originally supposed to be at my house but relocated due to the pox)? All those things might have played a small part, but really I was just not on top of planning for it like I should have been. We bought the present a week ago, which was good. But I knew Matt would be taking Addie, not me, since I would be busy in the kitchen. And I guess I was not as concerned about timing and driving directions as I would have been had I been the driver.
Speaking of driving directions, last week there was a field trip downtown for Addie's class. It fell on my work day so I got to go. The class took the city bus. I opted to take the car. Both because Addie got a bit queezy on the last bus-trip downtown and had to get off early with her teacher so she did not puke. And because I get queezy on bus trips. So I drove. But I spent what was probably a laughable amount of time on the computer planning out the best place to park. Parking garages were like $16 for 2-3 hours. No way was I going to pay that. There was some street parking, but how much circling would I have to do to find a legal spot? Matt reminded me of a good place to find metered parking. So I had my driving directions, my parking plan, and my walking route - I was set! But then I made the mistake of under-paying the meter and realizing that it printed a slip for 1 hour and we needed more like 2 - 2 1/2. But since they are not coin meters, there is no way to add time on. So I had to swipe my credit card again and start over (since it is not like I could leave the kids in 1 hour to go back and start a new slip). So I did not pay the $16 I was trying to avoid, but I did pay more than I needed to due to a silly mistake. But we got there in time and had fun.
Just like Addie had fun yesterday (even if she was not exactly on time).
I guess afterwords she saw the attached store that sold shoes and such and was curious about bowling and had questions such as:
-do people bowl at their houses? (because why else would they buy their own shoes and ball?)
-is there a bowling class? (where people can go & bowl the whole time?)
She even got a cool personalized bowling birthday party t-shirt!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Some interesting tidbits about chicken pox & the vaccine
as cut & pasted from Wikipedia (my side notes are in italics)
Population-based immunization against varicella is not otherwise practiced in the UK. It is feared that there would be a greater number of cases of shingles in adults, until the vaccination was given to the entire population—because adults who have had chickenpox as a child are less likely to have shingles in later life if they have been exposed occasionally to the chickenpox virus (for example by their children). This is because the exposure acts as a booster vaccine.
When the exposure involves the United States Postal Service to swap contaminated items, the practice is illegal. (So I will not be mailing any pre-sucked lollipops your way!)
Population-based immunization against varicella is not otherwise practiced in the UK. It is feared that there would be a greater number of cases of shingles in adults, until the vaccination was given to the entire population—because adults who have had chickenpox as a child are less likely to have shingles in later life if they have been exposed occasionally to the chickenpox virus (for example by their children). This is because the exposure acts as a booster vaccine.
Research suggests that widespread vaccination against chickenpox, now common in the United States, may lead to a significant increase in shingles among the elderly.
Additional controversy has arisen because cell lines derived from aborted fetal tissue were used in its development, and thus violates the ethics and beliefs of people who oppose the use of aborted fetal tissue in medical research.
Catching "wild" chickenpox as a child has been thought to commonly result in lifelong immunity. Indeed, parents have deliberately ensured this in the past with "pox parties". Historically, exposure of adults to contagious children has boosted their immunity, reducing the risk of shingles. (Hooray! All those snuggles & kisses I have given to Etta lately will have a long-term health benefit for me!)
The CDC and corresponding national organisations are carefully observing the failure rate which may be high compared with other modern vaccines - large outbreaks of chickenpox having occurred at schools which required their children to be vaccinated
and regarding "pox parties":
The first reference to such a practice is an early-eighteenth century letter by Lady Montagu to Sarah Chiswell describing parties held in Istanbul for the purpose of variolation—an effective technique for gaining immunity to smallpox.[40] Lady Montagu imported variolation to England.Historically, smallpox parties and other forms of controlled inoculation reduced significantly the death rate due to smallpox (see Variolation). With the introduction of a smallpox vaccine, inoculations of wild smallpox virus fell into disuse.
Similarly, the rubella party was sometimes considered a rite of passage for pubescent females after the link between rubella infections early in pregnancy and severe birth defects was established, but before the development of effective rubella immunizations. (smart ladies! they exposed themselves so they could protect their future babies)
_____
I am not trying to get on an anti-vaccine soapbox. I have completed a lot of vaccines for my girls. I just don't do them necessarily in the recommended order and I would rather schedule an additional doctors visit than give my kid two vaccines on the same day. The chicken pox vaccine was a low priority for me. The mortality rate for chicken pox versus something like measles is very different. When briefly discussing it tonight, Matt did point out that I have the girls get the flu shot. And complications from the flu are quite low (so are complications from the flu shot by the way). So some people might question how I make these decisions. All I have to say is, I do think about it and have my reasons.
____
And an update on Etta: she is seeming to be less itchy & irritable and she is falling sleep faster. Hooray!
Still no symptoms from Addie.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Pox Part Anyone?
You are welcome to come have a chicken pox party at our house. We will be getting mighty stir-crazy so company is welcome :)
We did not intentionally expose Etta, but I did make the choice not to get the vaccine. I am making sure she shares food and cups with her sister, because if one has it both might as well. Matt thinks I am a bit cruel.
I do want to warn you that it is not pleasant to see your beloved child with nasty red bumps all over their face and to hear them whimpering because they are itchy/ouchy. They also don't sleep well.
Anyone interested?!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
New Car
I was so excited to look out the kitchen window this morning and gaze at our shiny new set of wheels.
Just kidding, not really our car.
We will need a new car.
And it will need to be bigger. But hopefully not that long!
It cracked Matt & I up. We saw it sitting there for about half an hour
and due to the tinted windows we could not tell if anyone was in it.
Had it been there all night?
Did someone steal it for a joy-ride then abandon it (nicely parked & without a scratch)?
Nope, I think someone needed their 8am limo ride.
Seriously? To work?
I assume the ride was not for someone in our neighborhood but that it was a
convenient spot to pull-over and kill a little time before their punctual arrival at the pick-up spot.
Just kidding, not really our car.
We will need a new car.
And it will need to be bigger. But hopefully not that long!
It cracked Matt & I up. We saw it sitting there for about half an hour
and due to the tinted windows we could not tell if anyone was in it.
Had it been there all night?
Did someone steal it for a joy-ride then abandon it (nicely parked & without a scratch)?
Nope, I think someone needed their 8am limo ride.
Seriously? To work?
I assume the ride was not for someone in our neighborhood but that it was a
convenient spot to pull-over and kill a little time before their punctual arrival at the pick-up spot.
Taking dollie for a walk
A dad snapped this shot of Etta at co-op today. I was not in class most of the time, but I heard she was being pretty silly.
She told me the goggles were sunglasses. So really there is nothing strange about the picture. If it were at home she would be wearing Addie's tights, multiple skirts or dresses, a swimsuit, etc to complete her look.
She told me the goggles were sunglasses. So really there is nothing strange about the picture. If it were at home she would be wearing Addie's tights, multiple skirts or dresses, a swimsuit, etc to complete her look.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Behind closed doors
I have realized lately that there are times when the girls can happily play together for extended amounts of time. I still keep an ear on them. But I do not have to have my eye on them. They could not only be in another room, but be on a different floor of the house.
Usually this playing involves numerous outfit changes, dancing, and playing with babies (dolls, stuffed animals, etc). And this always involves some amount of Addie telling Etta what to do.
It feels wrong sometimes to just continue siting in front of the computer (or whatever task I am doing). But if they really are having fun together, why would I need to sit in the same room? They have their squabbles, and I intervene when things get too loud or someone starts screaming. Etta is good at instigating, and Addie gets fed up and hits or pushes. There is always a mess after they are done playing. But over-all they play together well. That (and their patience) will be truly put to the test when baby comes in early Sept!
Usually this playing involves numerous outfit changes, dancing, and playing with babies (dolls, stuffed animals, etc). And this always involves some amount of Addie telling Etta what to do.
It feels wrong sometimes to just continue siting in front of the computer (or whatever task I am doing). But if they really are having fun together, why would I need to sit in the same room? They have their squabbles, and I intervene when things get too loud or someone starts screaming. Etta is good at instigating, and Addie gets fed up and hits or pushes. There is always a mess after they are done playing. But over-all they play together well. That (and their patience) will be truly put to the test when baby comes in early Sept!
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