The Fever

Yep, time for the fever with no symptoms again. Ryan's body must really take virus' differently than most cuz he gets these high fevers with no other symptoms. High as in 104.5...OMG. Yep. Then I did a rectal to double check, and that was 103.3....odd, since I assumed it was going to be higher (supposed to be more accurate) and was already halfway out the door to the ER in my mind. Tylenol does nothing for his high fevers, but motrin rocks. It takes it down 2-3 degrees in an hour.

We called the Blue Cross advice nurse and after answering tons of questions she told me to call the after hour pediatrician line, but if we got another 104 reading to go to the ER. The on call doctor was an ASS. ASS. ASS. I tried to explain to him the progression of the fever during the day because obviously it just didn't start out at 104.5. I do have some kind of a clue and noticed it before that, thank you very much. I just wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing and didn't need to go to the ER like the nurse said. The doctor kept interrupting me, wouldn't let me get my info out. Then tells me that with no other symptoms all the ER will do is treat the fever, the same way we are now. He's obviously fighting off some kind of infection/virus but as long as the motrin is working he is fine. I should mention there was no hysterical crying/whining. He just wanted to sit on our lap. During the day when the fever was lower he was his normal self, with less of an appetite. I remembered our doctor in San Diego saying if the fever responds to meds then its fine, its a high fever that doesn't respond to meds that we have to worry about.

But...i just wanted to make sure this doctor on the phone undestood at one time it had been 104.5 (and was already down to 102 and Ryan was asleep already). So I said "so you're not worried about a temp of 104.5?" And he says "what did i just say?" Yeah, love him. So friendly and helpful to a nervous mom on the phone--with his TV on in the background. Needless to say, no one in this family will be going to that doctor--ever. Then he throws out the "well ofcourse with temperatures that high we worry about seizures." DUH...hence the concern. I wasn't worried his eyeballs were gonna pop out of his head, i was worried about seizures.

I ended up taking Ryan to his doctor yesterday just to have his ears/throat/glands checked, make sure it wasn't strep or an ear infection. He got the all clear and its just a virus. If he has a temperature still tomorrow he wants to see him again. Today has been much better, nothing over 101 and I've been able to space out the motrin a lot longer than 6 hrs. I believe he is on the mend. Today is the first time I put him down for a nap in his crib. And I think he can spend one more night in bed with me--couch time for Ethan again.

The cool thing was at the doc we got to check his height. The last two times he was so traumatized that we didn't even try. Now he realizes he doesn't get a shot everytime, and that he gets a lollipop if he is good. He even says "doctor nose mouth throat, i ok, pop."

I cannot believe my little boy is half an inch away from being 3 ft tall. He was 35.5 inches tall, and 30.5 pounds. He hasn't gained much weight, but he's grown about 4 inches. WOW.

Now I get it

The key to the new haircut is the flat iron. I never thought of that because a) my hair is as flat as it gets and b) i do not have the coordination for that kind of stuff. But, I tried and yes, makes a big difference. So, yay for me not burning myself.

Ryan slept 11 hrs last night :)

And, we need a new fridge. NEW being the operative word. This will be our first new fridge since, well, forever. When we got married we moved into a rental house. Our friends lived there and were buying a house so they hooked us up. Then we ended up buying the house across the street--totally unrelated. Anyway, they left their fridge for us and we paid them $200. It was old, but it worked. Please do not ask me why we have carted this $200 fridge that is probably worth $.50 back and forth from house to house, city to city. At one point I do believe we swapped that fridge for one Ethan found at his work that no one was using (maybe back in 2000) but when he brought it home I remember thinking, that looks just like the other one!!! Small, old, maybe from the 1980's. Small small small freezer. It hums, it chimes, it clicks and I have been wanting it to die for years, especially when we bought a brand new house in San Diego and I got all black appliances. But ofcourse we didn't need to buy a new fridge because ours worked. Ethan didn't care that it didn't match, or that there was so much room left in the fridge cut out area that we could have a party there.

In the last few months the clicks have been louder, and things start to freeze, especially liquids. Usually we can mess with the temperature dial and get it fixed. Usually, but not this time. And now I have the unfortunate task of telling my husband (frugle and thrifty and all those wonderful things that he is) that it really is time....not time to get another 18 cubic foot, but its time to upgrade. We're moving into the 90s....hopefully. I have to tell someone who just went way out of his comfort zone at Christmas and bought me beautiful diamond earrings that he swears he will be paying for the rest of his life, the same man who does our taxes and says we owe--I have to tell him I want to spend $1000 on a new fridge. Oh boy. And there is the small issue of size since we live in a rental and could possibly get a fridge that is too big for when we actually buy a house...and color. I prefer black-well I really prefer stainless but I know my limits-but i'm pretty sure my luck would be that every appliance in the house we buy will be the opposite of the fridge color I buy. Cuz thats how it goes.

The world might be coming to an end and I thought I would warn you...

Why you ask? Well, I have started eating oatmeal. Please, before you run and hide under your desk, you must know that I really don't mean for the world to end. But, this is being typed by a person who has spent 32 yrs hating oatmeal. I'm pretty sure I have said the world would have to be ending, pigs flying, etc. before I would eat it again. The last time I ate it was 6th grade science camp. But I didn't really eat it, I took a bite and spit it out. I don't care how much brown sugar you put on that crap it just isn't good. NOT GOOD. Ethan had me try cream of wheat once and again, YUCK. So, how did this happen?

I was getting tired of cereal and started eating bagels again, but then looked at the calorie count. OMG. Ok, so those were out. I started the Yoplait yogurt 100 calorie again, but I've decided that aspartame is yucky. I have been against all fake sweeteners from the beginning but the 100 calorie lured me in....but no, I"m done. And I also think it gives me headaches. My mom told me about a maple brown sugar w/ pecan oatmeal that was good. Honestly, I laughed in her face but it was only 160 calories so I gave it a whirl....And......

IT WAS GOOD. I know, shocking. So shocking that I even bought the vanilla honey kind too. I think its Quaker Oats heart smart or all natural or something. They come in a box that has individual packets. Ryan even had some, and he hasn't had oatmeal since he was a baby.

Now, for the hair. Just by reading this sentence you are promising not to laugh or call your BFF and laugh at my double chins. You also cannot e-mail my blog link to everyone you know to start a laugh at Brandi campaign. I wish someone would teach me how to post pictures with captions. And the one of Ryan, well thats just plain cute. That is him getting ready for bed and putting socks on his hands...ofcourse.

Because Mommy and Daddy needed a Vacation

We are back from a much needed weekend in San Diego. Ahh...yes, 80 degrees. Pure sunshine. Fresh ocean air....aaahhhh...I miss it already! But, I missed the little man before I even left. He asked about us while we were gone, but no tantrums. Yesterday my mom told him we would be back tomorrow so he said "mommy daddy back, i waiting." Precious. Too bad when we walked in the door he wouldn't even look at us. Yep, could have cared less. He was sitting on my sister's lap listening to his phonics radio. I do not like having to beg a 2 yr old for attention. And last week he started waking up during the night....and apparently my mom wasn't able to fix that while we were gone. Damn. This whole sleep thing is still a mystery to us. Luckily for him, if he wakes up tonight he gets a pass cuz I want some attention!!! But watch out tomorrow night...its gonna be rough around here.

Oh, about the hair. The color has faded a lot, and everyone seems to like it, even random people at the park. My mom is the only one that freaked out and told me to go back and get it fixed. Oh well. Saturday night was the first time I had actually "done" my hair since the new cut and color and I gotta say, it was pretty cute. I think the problem is that the red color is too obvious. Highlights should be natural...or try to be natural looking....or be a color that could possibly maybe be in your color family. So, next time I go back to my other red and all is well. Though, i am thinking i need to change the blonde color to more of a honey or carmel...nope, can't do that before my friend's wedding. That wouldn't be nice.

Newsflash...well, i want to tell you cuz i'm excited, but then i have to admit my fatness. Hmm....ok, i bought a pair of jeans at Kohls while I was in San Diego and...OMG...they were a size 8. Oh yeah! That is a pre-Ryan size....very pre-Ryan. Like, a long time ago, like when I first moved to San Diego, before I worked at desk job where I started drinking coffee and went out to lunch everyday. Now, i haven't lost any weight recently, and i'm pretty sure I put on about 10lbs from our weekend trip (yummy mexican food and breakfast out!) so I know its just the brand or cut of the jeans...but I'm still happy about it :) Its a nice little piece of motivation and let's me know the old Brandi might still be in here somewhere.

On a similar note, my friend the bride liked some of the swatches I sent her so it looks like my mom will be making my dress which means no bad bridal shop lighting or a lot of money spent on alterations. Yipee.

Ok. Time to get back to my real life of being a mommy :)

I might have pink hair

Hairdresser: we got a new red in, its brighter than your usual, more of a copper, but fades well and looks great with the blonde, do you want to try it?

Brandi: sure, let's go for it. i'm in the mood for change.

Hhhmmmm.....pics to follow....maybe

Double Zero

Well, I forgot to mention another bad thing about the bridesmaid dress shopping. Someone came in to look for a dress, could have been prom, or maybe the girl was in a wedding. I just know she was young and had her mom with her...ok, yes my mom was with me too, doesn't make me young. Anyway, the mother wanted to make sure they had a size double zero, because that is what size she wears in jeans. WTF? Seriously. Come on. Isn't zero bad enough? Now there is a double zero. And I have to say, the mom was very proud of her daughter being a double zero and had to say it several times. I wanted to scream "go eat some bread!" Ok, now I feel better. Kinda. Not really. We went to the fabric store last weekend and got lots of samples to send to my friend the bride, unfortunately, cornflower blue can be all sorts of different hues, and nothing was close to the swatch she sent me. The accent color, and the color that was going to be a large band around my waist (help hide the tummy...yay!) was sailor. Apparently sailor is between royal and navy...to which northern california has never heard of. I also picked up some periwinkle and while I think its closer to lavender, i like it much better. But again, its not my wedding and there is a very real real real possibility I will be back at the bridal store, under those terrible lights trying on that dress again and placing an order...sigh.

Let's see, what else. Ryan is coming along fantastically with his vocabulary. His speech therapy is going well, and they are no longer concerned with his acquisition or pronunciation. So, he just gets to play with Ms. Lisa once a week and he likes her so that is good. He automatically gets to stay in the program until he turns 3, and if she decides to, she can cut his therapy to twice a month instead. We are understanding almost everything he says, he knows his numbers 1-10 by site, and the entire alphabet by site. Preschool Prep rocks. Now we are working on letters with sounds. We have noticed some interesting things about the way he says some words. While some of it is just habit, especially some of the first words he learned to say, he sometimes substitutes letter sounds that are actually harder than the sound he is supposed to make. He also has a perfection issue, and will not even try some words, like banana. They were doing flash cards and when she shows him the picture of a banana he says "all done, away"...after he did the entire box and repeated every single word. He can say ambulance clearly...but some easier words he won't even try. I think its just a personality thing.

Next weekend Ethan and I are going to San Diego for our friend's 40th birthday. Its going to be a quick trip in and out, but desperately needed. We are just tired. From waking up at 5am (Ryan's new wake up..suck) and then Ethan staying up late working on his presentation he gave last week, we are run down. Oh, and I've been staying up reading The Golden Compass trilogy. FREAKIN LOVE IT.