A round of sickness

(I actually wrote most of this last week but didn't get around to posting it, so all time references are a bit off.)

It seems as though our luck has ran out.  For quite awhile everyone was relatively healthy.  Then the fevers started up.

Aren was first to get a fever last week.  He started eating less and then eventually started pointing inside his mouth and talking about having a boo boo.  He gradually became more whiny and clingy and his naps were getting shorter and shorter.

I remembered our neighbor mentioning that her 2 year old was having fevers and a rash and that he either had Strep or Hand Foot and Mouth Disease.  A couple of days after Aren's fever and sore throat started up he started getting blisters on his hands and around his mouth.  I asked the neighbor if she had found out what it was her son had and she replied it was, in fact, Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. 

We're not sure if Aren got the virus from the neighbor boy or from the cart at WalMart.  Either way, I don't wish this on anyone.  He was miserable.  There were a couple of days when I confessed to Biju that I didn't get anything productive around the house done, I just sat on the couch cuddling Aren.  He nodded his head and said "Being Mommy."

On Saturday Alex woke me up telling me his eyes were getting sticky.  I told him it was probably just sleep in his eyes, it would go away.  He crawled into bed with us and fell back to sleep.  An hour or so later when we all were a bit more awake, I realized he was feeling slightly warm.  I gave Biju "the look."

He was pretty tired most of the day and fell asleep after breakfast on our bed again.  That was a surprise since he rarely naps, even when he isn't feeling all that well.  He slept for about 20-30 minutes.  After lunch he went back to our bed and slept for two hours.  I'm not quick to give the kids medicine to take their fevers down.  As long as they aren't miserable I let their bodies fight whatever is causing the fever.  But I could tell Alex was miserable so I gave him some medication.  He was in the upper 102's most of the day but at one point he hit 104 (under the armpit).  Poor guy.  And whenever he swallowed he winced.  Poor, poor guy.  He ended up taking a third nap later that day and still went to bed at 7pm.  So unlike Alex.

Sunday I stayed home from church with Alex and Aren while Biju took Ajay.  Alex was feeling a bit better but whatever he had wasn't gone for good.  He would be good for awhile, then down on the couch for awhile.  On Monday he was fever free but still had a touch of a sore throat.  Monday night he kept complaining of itchy feet.  He had gone outside earlier in the day without shoes and I told him he must have stepped on something.  He kept itching like crazy and couldn't get to sleep.  I gave him some tea tree oil to stop the itch but it didn't seem to work.  Then I soaked some paper towels in vinegar and put those on his feet, then slipped his socks on over top to keep them in place.  It seemed to work because he was finally able to fall asleep. 

A few hours later he was up in our bed again, he couldn't sleep because of the itch.  A couple of hours after that Ajay wound up in our bed with severe ear pains.  Biju finally got out of bed a little after 3am and said he might as well go in to work because he wasn't sleeping, anyway. 

I took Ajay in to the doctor that morning who confirmed he had a pretty nasty ear infection.  He also confirmed that both Aren and Alex had Hand Foot and Mouth.  Luckily, Alex's itches had subsided and he was just left with the newly formed blisters. 

We decided to treat Ajay's ear infection with garlic oil instead of antibiotics. 

Ajay with ear pain, garlic oil dropped in his ear, warm corn bag on top.

He seems to be perfectly fine now!  A couple of days of drops (warmed olive oil mixed with chopped garlic, strained, sucked up into a syringe) and he was no longer in pain.  I would've given him a few more days of drops but Aren climbed up on the counter and squirted garlic oil everywhere. By then Ajay wasn't in pain anymore so I just didn't make anymore up.

Ear infection gone, blisters drying up, we thought we were good once again.  However, by the time the next Sunday rolled around, Aren had a fever.  104.9 under the armpit!  He wasn't miserable, though, just really cuddly.  We gave him some medicine at bedtime and he slept through the night and didn't have a fever again.  He did, however, have a lot of yucky stuff coming out of his nose and a rough sounding cough.  He still has a bit of a cough but feels fine.  Alex has started in on a heavy cough, though, so I'm hoping it doesn't escalate.

Cuddling with Daddios.

A Halloween Outing

We have started a new tradition, I believe.  Last year and this year my sister has come over with her husband and daughters on Halloween night.  We eat dinner and then get dressed up to go out!  Biju hangs out at the house to pass out candy to any Trick-or-Treaters that come our way. 

Ajay had originally wanted to be an OompaLoompa but then he changed his mind.  He continued changing his mind until the morning of Halloween.  He wanted to be a skeleton.  We'd had a costume from two years ago so that is what he put on.  Next year I'll ask him to make up his mind early on so we can make the costume with plenty of time and he won't have the option of changing his mind daily!

Alex, also, changed his mind.  He was going to be Spiderman but the day before he decided he wanted to be a Ninja.  Fine by me - we had everything we needed already hanging up in his closet.  Black clothes.  Done.

Aren really didn't tell me what he wanted to be so I gave him some inspiration.  I crocheted up a hat and dug into a box of clothes to complete his costume.  The overalls, I believe, were my older brother's from when he was Aren's age. 

Aren - Minion, Alex - Ninja, Ajay - Skeleton

Shelly had brought over some face paint for her girls so we used some yellow and put it on Aren's face to help aid the costume.  Alex told several people that I made his Ninja mask out of a t-shirt.  (Thank you, YouTube videos!). 

Here is the whole crew ready to go out.  Paige was also a Skeleton - girl style, Kyleigh was a Fairy Princess and Audrey was a Fox.  That evening was the first time I'd heard/seen "What Does the Fox Say?" - How could I have missed out on such a world-wide sensation??

A fun mess

When Ajay was little, he would have a "parent educator" come play with him once a month.  She would play with Ajay and give me handouts as to what I should expect at each current age.  She would also help gauge if he was on track, developmentally.  Once he graduated from the program, at age 3, she no longer came for visits.  Since Ajay already went through the program and I was given all of the handouts, Alex wasn't eligible for the program.
 
When we moved last year, we moved into a new school district which opened up an opportunity for Aren to get the same type of visits.  Once a month for almost a year now (except for the summer months), Miss E. has been coming to play with Aren.  She brings blocks to stack - he thinks it's just fun, she uses it to check his motor skills.  She brought puzzle bears - you can change their clothes and their faces with different expressions.  Again, fun for him, but she uses it as a tool to teach emotions.

For his October visit she brought a big plastic tray and some shaving cream. 
 
Have you ever seen a small child play with shaving cream?  Some might be tentative, some might not like the mess. 

Aren dug right in.  And Alex played along, as well.  After awhile there was no holding back and it got quite messy! 

I had shaving cream on my hands as well, but in the end I just couldn't resist getting my camera! 

Can you see it in Aren's hair?  Can you even find Alex's hands?

Going all in!

Knee deep in fun!!

About this time we decided to reign in the chaos and get the boys cleaned up.  Aren, at almost two and a half, had no qualms about stripping down in front of Miss E.  I turned on the faucet in the tub to wash off the plastic tray and when I turned around, Aren was neked and ready for a bath!  Alex, on the other hand, thankfully, was a bit more shy.  He waited until she was gone before he hopped in the shower. 

Miss E. asked how likely I would be to do this activity with the boys.  I told her, honestly, not very likely.  Unless it is during the summer months and they can go outside!  (Even putting them in the tub for this might cause more mess than I care to clean up!)

Pumpkin Guts

Our porch was decked out with some painted pumpkins, yet it was still missing something.  We needed a few more pumpkins - carved pumpkins!

Time to get started!  Earlier in the day we had picked up a little carving kit from Dollar Tree.  The kit worked better than I thought it would!

Ewwww, all slimy and stuff!

Pumpkin carving made complete by sipping on some spiced tea!

Aren got a little help from both Mommy and Daddy. 

Our Halloweenish counter top.  Apples, tomatoes from our backyard, goody buckets ready to go Boo a couple of neighbors, some S'mores apple treats won from Bunco the previous night, and the carved pumpkins.  Oh, and a little candy package - candy wrapped in tissue paper, tied with a little fabric leaf.  I made about 40 of these for Ajay's and Alex's Fall Class Parties.  (And the pan on the far left is full of pumpkin guts - see photo above this one - which I cleaned up to make roasted pumpkin seeds.)

Close

Biju and I were in the kitchen one evening and the boys were downstairs.  I peeked over the stairs and saw all three cuddled up watching TV.  Aww!

Skype keeps us close with those in India!

A baby shower!!

There will be a new baby soon!!  Our good friend Erin and her husband, Casey, are expecting a little girl in the next couple of weeks.  We can't wait to meet her! 
We threw Mama a baby shower a few weeks back to help get ready for Baby.

Delicious cupcakes, some nuts and mints, and a spot of tea and punch.  Yum!

Erin playing with Aren and her niece, with Lisa alongside.

Gifts!

Here is a carseat blanket - hopefully the right size.  It came out a bit smaller than I had anticipated.

Here is another shot of it.  The "holes" in the center are for the carseat buckles to clip around.  This way the blanket won't fall off yet it doesn't affect the safety of the carseat.

Aren and some of the other little guests at the party played with the discarded tissue paper.

Erin, seated, then me, Natalie, Janel, Lisa and Morgan.  And Aren, too.

After the shower we went out to dinner.  I'm not sure why, but Aren felt the need to take his shirt off.  I'm glad he had another shirt on underneath!

Aren conked out for the 1.5 hour drive back home.

Sweet Flowers

 Here are some shots of the flowers and plants after they filled in some throughout the summer/start of fall.  I thought Biju's parents would be interested in seeing how everything looked

When I took these pictures a month or more back the mums hadn't quite filled in yet.  There were still a lot of blooms yet to open.  Now, though, everything has blossomed and filled out.  It is interesting seeing which plants like the cooler weather and which ones don't!

Raccoon #5

 Ajay's class had their Fall Program in early October.  He was Raccoon #5 and had a line ("Yo, dudes, what's happenin'?")
We were to dress him up in black and white to make him look like a raccoon.  The note sent home stated we could paint on a mask and whiskers, etc.  I decided to crochet the mask and paint the rest. 

A mask with some ears!

Ready to go!

Raccoons (and other wild animals) in action!