So, my internet’s working again!!!  Hip Hip Hooray!!!  I cannot believe how paralyzed I felt for days without it.  Sad really. 

But things were hectic last week, so I’m not sure I would’ve been able to update anyway.  Big Girl scraped her ankle at a pool party on Tuesday (a boy/girl pool party by the way…oh, boy.)  Next day we spent at the lake.  Next day, that scrape wasn’t looking so normal.  To make a long story short, she developed cellulitis and is now mending (thank God) with the assistance of an antibiotic.  The doctor’s casual mention of the possibility of MRSSA scared the hay out of me, but she is recuperating, so I’m not as worried as I was initially.

At the same time Mr. Baby Boy developed a HORRIBLE diaper rash….his very first in his 16 months on the planet.  To make another long story short, after several back and forths with the doctor during the week, he is being treated for a yeast infection, as well as a bacterial infection.  Yikes!!  He is FINALLY responding to treatment, and no longer screams like one being tortured when he pees.  Additionally, he had to go through some blood work to check for allergies to soy, milk, wheat, corn, and something else which was on the sheet but my overspent mind cannot remember.  Can I just tell you that holding down a screaming, kicking baby while they draw five vials of blood will test the emotional endurance of the most even tempered parent?  Forget the parent who is at the end of her frazzled nerves!  I really think they should hand out Valium to the parents at the check-in desk at the hospital lab.  Although I survived the experience with little more than watery eyes, I had all I could do to keep myself from opening a bottle of wine when I came home…I knew it was 5:00 somewhere, but since it was only 10:00am here, I thought I’d better just suck it up.  I’m not sure how I will feed the child if he proves allergic to all, but it may give us some clues into the rash issues, his lack of weight gain, as well as his unpredictable sleep patterns.  Ah, well, no one ever said parenting was easy! 

On a positive note, we spent Saturday visiting friends who live a few hours from us.  They throw a yearly picnic at their home for several of their friends, and it is a wonderful chance to relax and get all the families together.  Below are a few photos from theirs and a neighboring property.  Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

And their adorable little Jack Russell….she was a very tired girl after swimming with the kids all afternoon!

So, Big Girl is Moving on Up…to the Middle School.  *dun*dun*DUN*

She had her Moving Up ceremony last night, and made her parents very proud.  She won an Academic Excellence Award, and she was one of about fifteen kids recognized for their character….very cool!  (This was the last full day of school, the rest will be half days leading up to the last next Tuesday.  I swear each year passes by faster than the last.)

I find it hard to believe that I have a child entering the Middle School.  It seems like she was just hopping off to Kindergarten!  But, I refuse to mourn the stages passed, and I enjoy her company more with each passing year, so I look forward to watching her grow into this new phase of her childhood.  I do look ahead with a fearful eye though, knowing that the next few years will be a test of choices for her, and a test of patience for me. 

To honor her night we got her some flowers.  (It’s a good thing too!  The recital flowers were pretty dead, but I hadn’t had the heart to get rid of them.  It was nice to have new ones take their place!)