Back to Square One

Remember in February when Devin had surgery to have ear tubes put in to ease all of his ear infections? Well, apparently his right tube has already fallen out of place! I blame it on his rapid pace of growth. The pediatrician told me that it is not unheard of for the tube(s) to come out this soon, but I really hoped/expected them to last through one full winter (they typically last about a year or more).

Ugh, so anyway, we are right back at square one already...with an EAR INFECTION!

Devin started with a nasty, mucus sounding cough on Saturday and it has just been sitting there with him all week. We have been attached to the Nebulizer, doing treatments 2-3 times a day. Last night he woke up with a high fever and vomiting. We were up half the night. Poor Devin was so sick! First thing this morning we were off to the doctor. I was not surprised when she said he had an ear infection. I was relieved when she said his chest sounded clear and I was surprised when his Pulse Ox was only 95 with all of the Neb meds we have been doing!

Hopefully Devin will get better quickly now that he is on antibiotics!

Say What?!?

Last week we went out to dinner at T-Bones. When Devin finished he said to Erick and I, "I'm all done. I'm gonna go wait outside."

Ummm...WHAT???? No, I don't think so! You are not 15, despite whatever you think!!! LOL

Reunion from the Good Old Days

Miss Kristen, Miss Jamie, and Miss Karla

Last week I was able to visit with some friends/old co-workers. The 3 of us used to work at Kristen's pre-school ~Child Guidance (well, Kristen is still there since she owns it!). I have moved on teaching in the public elementary school and Jamie now lives in San Diego, but was in town for a visit with her family and friends.

Kristen arranged for some of our old students to come and visit too. They are now teens through early twenties- we had them in their pre-school and single digit years!!! Wow have they grown up!

It was so nice to see everyone, reminisce, and chat about the "Good Old Days" for a little bit!

Devin also made a new buddy in the youngest sibling of a family that I had all 3 of the older siblings and babysat for about 8 years! Here are Devin and Ryan having a blast!

Trick or Treat (part 2)

Last night was Halloween night! We had a good time. The weather was surprisingly mild for the last day of October! We lit our jack-o-lantern, put out some candy for the few trick-or-treaters we get in our development and headed out with Lexi, her Grammy, and her Auntie.

I couldn't get these 2 to pose for me! Devin the skunk and Lexi, Alice in Wonderland

Getting some treats!
It didn't take us long to visit the neighbors in our small development, so when we were done we drove over to surprise my friend Nancy from work for a quick visit. Even the drive over to Nancy's house was fun because we passed by several haunted yards- we rolled down our windows and went really slow to enjoy! Devin got a little spooked by this!

By 8:00pm the skunk was pooped out, so we came home and he quickly went to sleep in his "den." HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Trick or Treat (part 1)

Sunday afternoon was Trick or Treat in my parent's city (where I grew up!). They always have it the Sunday before Halloween. I actually like it that way. Its a lot safer for the kids and the weather is almost always gorgeous (you never know what the weather will be like in late October in New England).

Here are some pictures of my skunk! (The monkey is my parent's neighbor.)

Picking out some yummy treats!
Here is his stinky backside! (LOL) Devin has the perfect personality for this costume. You KNOW he was getting lots of comments, "Pee-you!" and "Don't spray me!" and so on as we went about the neighborhood. Devin just laughed them off or made a silly face!

Yes, we will still go Trick or Treating around our development on Halloween night. He is excited to go at night time too.

He's my "Lil Stinker" as it says on the bum!

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin carving is not exactly the most entertaining thing for a 3.5 year old. There really isn't a whole lot for the child to do to help in the process. Sure, he can help plan the jack-o-lantern face, take out the pulp and seeds, and, well, watch the Carver. That's about it.

Don't get me wrong, when we did our first family pumpkin carving tonight, we all enjoyed the process, it just wasn't very entertaining!! Devin ate his dinner while Erick was doing the hardest part of the cutting, which was probably best (less he bug Daddy) and he just watched while he ate his American Chop Suey and garlic toast. I was multi-tasking: cooking dinner and cleaning the seeds/cooking the pumpkin seeds.

Here is the pumpkin carving process in pictures:I must say that Devin was very excited with the final result and can not wait until Halloween night, when we promised him we would put a candle in the jack-o-lantern. Honestly, I am kind of excited for that too!!

Random Ramblings

Phew, it's been a while since I've blogged. I've been busy! Let's see...we've had a birthday, the first snow flakes, pumpkin picking, and I've been at a training for work. Told you I've been busy!

I will start with the really boring stuff- work. For 3 days last week I had to commute into Cambridge, Ma with some colleagues to attend a training for a new reading intervention program we are going to be using. The training was great, but the days were extremely loooooooong. I am not used to being out of the house for 11-12 hours, traveling 1.5-2 hours each way, using the subway etc. I had to arrange alternate care for Devin (Thanks Dad, Mom, and Carolyn!) and be really prepared ahead of time. It was a lot of work!

Friday and Sunday also brought the first snowflakes of the season. It is so early for snow! Sunday it actually snowed most of the afternoon. It did not accumulate much- mostly on cars, but it was quite a sight to see in mid-October!

Friday was Erick's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Hunny! We celebrated by going out to dinner at Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse. On Saturday Devin and I made Erick a birthday cake (I was way too busy with the training to do it on Friday). It was a nice, but uneventful birthday.

Saturday Devin and I went to Wilson Farm. It was a crisp sunny fall morning. We went for a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and visited the animals. We also got caramel apples, vegetables, and hot chocolate. It was a fun morning.