The Little Guy is a Little Better

Robert woke this morning feeling a little better, but not back to normal. He had his ups and downs all day. As the day progressed, his fever came back up, so I gave him Infant Motrin. It brought his temperature down, but not for the full 6 hours between doses. When his temp was down, he was happy and playing and full of fun.


When he started getting warm again, he wanted to be held and cuddled, and he slept a lot. I called the clinic, and they told me to increase the Motrin dosage, since it was only working for about three hours. For his bedtime dose, that's what I did, so we'll see how it works. He's sleeping soundly right now, as is Clara.

Clara had a nice day. She went with Grandpa to church. She enjoyed her Bible class, and sat with our friends during worship, while Dan was preaching. Those friends have a middle-school daughter, Haley, and Clara was pretty smitten by her. After worship, Dan and Clara went to lunch with a group of friends, including Haley. When they came home, I asked Clara who she sat with. "Haley. She's nice, and she has pretty clothes!" Dan said Clara ate her entire - as in EVERY BITE - pancakes and bacon breakfast, which is what she wanted for lunch. And he said that she was good as gold the entire morning.

I asked Clara how Grandpa's preaching was. She said it was fine. I asked her what he preached about, not really expecting her to be able to tell me, but she told me that he preached about "a lost sheep and a lost coin and a lost man." Wow! I was so surprised that she heard and remembered that!

Today Clara started a scrapbook about her visit with Grandma and Grandpa. It has photographs, drawings by her, and words that she dictated to me about the pictures. On one page, she wanted to do the writing herself, and she did a nice job. She asked me to spell most words, but some of the words she knew how to spell on her own. It should be a fun little keepsake for her.


Clara continues to receive emails, most days, from her Mommy. Today the mail came from London, with pictures attached, including one of Chris and Kelsey standing outside Buckingham Palace. It appears that they are having a great time. I'm so glad they were able to make this trip together.

Some Days Are Diamonds; Some Days Are Just Plain Rocky

I was up well past midnight last night, trying to get my facebook account closed, though I don't know if it will stop all of the crazy emails, phone calls, and instant messages that have been going out to my friends, falsely, in my name. Sadly, closing a Facebook account is neither quick nor easy. I've started the process, but it will be lengthy. By the way, if any of you get email from lindajudd52@yahoo.com, that is NOT my email address (sigh)!

So I was tired this morning when it was time to get rockin' and rollin' with the children. Robert, who has been a great eater since he arrived, didn't want anything for breakfast. He pushed everything away, which was surprising. As the day progressed, it became obvious that he wasn't feeling well. He even threw up a number of times :-( When we took his temperature, he wasn't running a fever, but as the day progressed, he started feeling a little warm. I got him in to the after hours pediatric clinic near our house. We saw a very nice physician's assistant. He checked Robert over -- no ear infection, no lung/breathing problems, and he was well-hydrated. He did have a low-grade fever and a red throat, and the PA suspected strep. He ran a quick-read lab culture, which proved positive for strep. Kelsey and Chris, please, please don't worry. We've got him started on Amoxacyllin, and we're anticipating a quick recovery! He should be good as new by the time you get here.

Clara is doing fine, but we'll watch her closely for any symptoms. She got to go out to breakfast with Grandpa and Uncle Tim this morning. She put down a huge pancake and bacon breakfast. I felt bad that for much of the day we were giving so much time and attention to Robert that she got cheated out of the fun Saturday that we had planned. I hope we can make it up to her as Robert improves.

Tomorrow Dan is preaching (we are currently preacherless, so Dan is taking his turns at feeding the flock) , and he will take Clara to church with him while I stay home with Robert. She'll have fun in her Bible class, I'm sure, and we have lots of terrific friends who will be happy to have her sit with them during worship, while Dan preaches. Not the way we planned it, but it's out of our control.

My Facebook Account Has Been Hacked

In case you are one of my Facebook Friends, please know that I'm at home and fine. My FB account has been hijacked, and the culprit is asking my friends for money, saying I've been mugged in London and need money. DON'T SEND IT, please.

Blue's Clues and a Green Knee

Until today, I've been putting off all household chores, but even Grandma has to change the sheets, do laundry, and tidy up a bit now and then. Today was that day. I decided that I'd have to resort to a morning of videos. Clara was delighted, and chose a series of Blue's Clues, from Netflix, to watch. Even Robert seemed to be interested in them, though not as fascinated as Clara.


We all enjoyed the morning. I sat and watched cartoons with them, between my chores, and answered all of Clara's many questions: "How does he jump into the picture in the book, Grandma? Why does he always make his hands go like that when the mailman comes? What is 'paprika,' Grandma?"

Robert was easy to entertain. In addition to half-heartedly watching Blue's Clues, he also played peek-a-boo with me, following me around the house and peeking around corners.


Here's a picture of Clara to show what this land of no humidity does to a little blond girl's hair.


The drama of the day came after lunch. I put Robert down for a nap, and asked Clara to take a quiet time in her bedroom. She wanted to color, and that was fine. She took her crayons and markers and a Cat in the Hat coloring book with her. She opened her door, after a few minutes, and called out that she thought the timer wasn't going to work. I went in to check on it and reassure her, but when I got there I was so surprised. She had taken a green marker and colored a big green patch on both front and back of her hand and an even bigger patch of green all up her left leg. The green had migrated to her face and the bed sheets. It seemed so out of character for her, which is why I decided it had to be a result of separation anxiety that she must be experiencing, but unable to put into words. The guilty look on her face, when I came in and saw her art work, was priceless. I was pretty easy on her, although I did put the markers up and tell her that she'll need to use them only when I'm with her, not by herself. She puddled up and promised not to do it again, but Grandma stayed firm.

These pictures were taken about 45 minutes later, just before I put her in the bathtub to scrub off the green. Judging by that face, maybe I was a little too soft on her :-)