Saturday, November 19, 2005
Stupid Ass Dogs!
Most of you know I have a love/hate relationship with our dogs. One dalmatian and one chocolate lab. Most of my misery is caused by the constant filth and them constantly being underfoot. Plus being obnoxious while Emma's eating. Plus the lab who drinks from the water bowl and then come finds me to blot his mouth dry on my pants. Anyway...I digress.

Today they ran off. Mind you today is the first day of hunting season for hunting deer with rifle. That means there are dangerous nuts in the woods everywhere with guns. I put the turds in the fenced in yard while I fed Emma (see above) and when I went to let them in they were gone. GREAT! So M. spends his entire lunch break from work tromping through the woods (where there are hunters waiting) looking for these punk-ass animals. The VA Tech vs. VA game was on and Tech was stomping ass so you can imagine he was thrilled to go looking for the dogs. Anyway, miracle of miracles, he found them. They'd only been gone three hours and it took an hour for him to find them. This happens to us about twice a year, every time there is a risk they'll be shot by hunters or by farmers, so it's not a small matter. We try very hard to keep them from getting away. I hate these muddy, smelly, gassy bastards snoozing away merrily on my floor.

While I'm at it let me tell you one more little thrill of hunting season. When hunter's kill their deer they usually "field dress" them. That means gutting them where they fell to keep from having to haul the weight of the guts out of the woods. Those lovely rotting gut piles will beckon a dog from miles away. The dog will go and have his fill. Then MY dogs will come home and barf it up on the living room rug. Nice, huh?

Oh, and the random deer legs or assorted parts found in the yard are a treat too.
What I'm wearing
Today I'm wearing my favorite t-shirt. It's so much more than a common t-shirt because it's embroidered and has cool cuffs. Wanna see what it says?



I got this one a few years ago. I also bought one for M. that says Detroit. His is Detroit Tiger colors. I thought they were cool.
The day after
After I posted last night it got worse. I heard her crying so I went in and changed her diaper, except it was bone dry. I dressed her back up. But by that point she was hysterical. And went on like that, screaming, bucking, kicking for 30-40 minutes while M. and I tried every damned thing we could think of to calm her. She put her fingers in her mouth! Is it teeth? Give her some Baby Oragel! We can't give her more Tylenol cause it's only been 3 hours! I'll call mom! (I should have known right there that calling Mom meant I'd be pressured to call the doctor) So I talk to her, she tried to help but we were thinking of the same ideas. Meanwhile Emma is just totally out of control. We hang up. Then the phone rings. Does she have gas? Maybe it's gas, give her some Mylicon. So we try that. Finally we're sitting there on our king bed just watching her having her screaming hysterical fit. She won't let us hold her, she won't let us touch her, she's just completely beyond help.

So I grab her and start to peel off her clothes and get her down to just her onesie. I take her diaper off and expose the butt to the air. We figure out there is pee in there. She must have peed right after her diaper was back on and it was burning the hell out of her. Slowly, very slowly, she starts to come back to us, to wind down. But if you could see this butt, it's just horrible. So I do bring myself to call the docter (I'm one of those people who hates to be a bother and it's 10:22 and we have one poor MD who is taking all "on calls" right now). Fortunately he happened to be at the medical center. We talked about the rash and the possibilities for helping to soothe her. He offers to meet me Sat. if it's not better and he'll write a scrip for Nylantin (sp?) By that time she's resting on my chest, her ragged breaths hitching occasionally. What we ended up doing was letting her run around nakey butt again till she was fully calmed down, and then put her to bed nakey butt. I waited about 40 minutes and then went up and put a diaper on her in her sleep. Which was touch and go, but actually worked.

When she woke up this morning it looked much better. The bright red inflammation that had been spread all over was gone. It looked like a rash. Today she still fights me at diaper changes, but I think we're on the downhill side of this disaster.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Sorry no picture tonight
I believe it would have been inappropriate to photograph my nakey buns baboon butt baby. But I promise you it was cute as hell. ;)
Now I know what diaper rash looks like
It's horrible. Bright red and welty looking. Overnight Emma went from having a spot here and there to her whole diaper area turning beet read. I've never seen such a thing. The poor girl looks like she has a red baboon butt. When I dropped her off at Mary's this morning I told her about it and told her to keep an eye on Em so she could change her diaper quickly. When I picked her up Mary said Emma would fuss every time she was wet so she knew it was hurting her. And it wasn't looking any better, maybe worse.

I had decided when we got home that she was going to have a nakey buns session to air it all out for a while, consequences be damned. But then I thought what if she sits on the floor and gets dog hair all over her lotioned butt? Then I'd have to wipe it even more vigorously to get the hair off. Ugh. M. suggested we get her some little cotton panties to run around in so I headed down the street to the Evil Corporate Entity and bought some. As it turns out her nakey buns session lasted well over and hour, until bath time. We never did need the panties. When her buns hit the air she was really excited and happy. Her mood improved 100%.

If she cries at all tonight I'm heading straight in there and changing her diaper. In a fit of inspiration I gave her some Tylenol for the pain before tucking her in. I hope it's not so bad in the morning.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
What's in Emma's diaper bag?
Let her show you...

Today's outfit
I was holding this one until hunting season. Granted, it's only muzzleloading season, but that's good enough for me.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Loving on her dogs
Or triple-teaming Daddy. Whatever...

I couldn't stand it any longer...
I broke down and set up my mini Christmas tree. It's the only decorating I did. As I recall I put it up early last year. I figure if I'm going to get in the proper mood to begin my shopping I need some inspiration. This sits in our ex-pool room and someday hopefully dining room.

My baby has the squirts
It's actually the first time it's ever happened. I always wondered how you'd tell the difference. Now I know. Eight diapers in a day, that's a clue. And ever reddening butt, another clue. Her spirits are fine. She's eating fine. I'm blaming the one year shots she got on Monday.

I'm pretty sure I know my audience here, which is why I would actually post on this topic. Non-mothers, I apologize.
Popcorn Moocher
She's pestering her daddy for popcorn. Daddy was carefully selecting pieces and the biting away all signs of hull and giving it to her. She was loving that corn!

I bring da bling, fo' shizzle!
Any resemblence to Kevin Federline (K-Fed) is purely coincidental and frankly enough to make Emma want to puke. ;)

From the Archives "Daddy's Home"
I've heard from a couple of readers that this was a favorite video so I pulled it from the archives for those of you who haven't seen it. It's one of my favorites too!

Tuesday, November 15, 2005
I FINALLY watched a movie
Not one, but two movies. Daddy was away tonight so it was just the girls until Emma's bedtime. Then it was just me. I caught 13 Going on 30 on HBO. It was cute, but the end was too weird. It was a happy ending but it felt like they cheated. The other movie I watched was a DVD I purchased last December and just now am getting a chance to watch. Or making time to watch. Or whatever. It was Love Actually. It was chock full of British actors so what's not to love? It made me grab the tissues, but then I'm a sap for movies.

Usually a movie seems like such a big time commitment and I'm commitment-phobic. Nevermind that I can waste five hours surfing on the net and half-watching something on TV.

I'm glad that I finally watched something. I love a good story.
One year shots today...
Daddy took Emma to the health department this morning. I may have mentioned earlier, the local medical center doesn't give the required childhood vaccinations. They leave it to the Health Department. Which means they're all free. Woo hoo! Since I was off to have my tooth fixed Daddy had to be the one to take her. She got one in her arm and one in her leg. She got the MMR and VAR. Every time we get the shots done we get an updated printout prepared for the school system. Yikes! Let's not rush things. lol
Sunday, November 13, 2005
I broke a tooth
It doesn't really hurt yet, but the potential is there. About a sixth of my back molar has broken away from the rest of the tooth, but I pushed it back into place and am taking great care not to disturb it. Of course this would have to happen on a Saturday night when there is no hope in hell of getting help. I did leave a message on my dentist's answering machine so they can work me in ASAP, I'm hoping Monday morning. This time it might be catastrophic for the tooth. I don't have a lot of dental problems, just a couple of fillings, but this could be a problem.

UPDATE: My dentist, bless his heart, he saved my tooth. I have a hell of a filling but I'm glad to have it. It's all pretty sore right now but it was worth it. It's amazing how much damage decay can do to your tooth and you never even feel it. Anyway, I scheduled a check-up and cleaning for a couple weeks from now. I'll be getting back on a regular schedule.
Mommy's Day
Let's see...I straightened up the kitchen which meant finding a place for several weeks worth of crap that had piled up. Then I vacuumed the downstairs. I scoured the kitchen sink and counters and the bathroom. I went for a two mile walk. I washed bottles and sippys. I wrapped a few Christmas presents. And I took a shower. No reading. It's amazing how much you can get done when you're not constantly chasing after a destructive toddler.
Emma's Day
She had a nice day with Noni and Popi. They reported that she ate a lot at breakfast and at lunch. They took her to the Veteran's Day parade and she had a great time. Here are some pics from the parade.


The Winner


A simple set in a better color. We don't really have room in our kitchen for an open leaf. It's pretty tight. I like the chairs much better too.