Strep Throat Strikes Again!

Just when I thought our lives were returning to normal, Strep Throat came back to haunt us. It started with Eli who with a burning fever spent Saturday night vomiting. Sunday morning the vomiting stopped, but the fever wouldn't go down. We got an appointment at the doctor for Sunday afternoon. By the time we arrived at the office Eli's fever was nearly 105. My sleep deprived anxiety was in high gear.

But, as it turns out, it was Strep Throat. After a dose of Motrin that stayed down, Eli's fever broke. But he was still feeling miserable.

By the time I went to bed on Sunday night my throat was suspiciously soar and I had the chills. Awesome! Sure enough by morning I could barely function. Off to the doctor with me. You guessed it, Strep Throat.

We're all on the mend. And so far Evan has remained well. I am cautiously optimistic, but given our luck with health this month, I'm not holding my breath.

The Mother's Day Card

Evan made me a beautiful Mother's Day card at school. With the help of his teacher he wrote the following:

"My mom is 5 years old.
She likes to wear Boston Red Sox Jammies.
She always goes to the grocery store.
Sometimes she buys ice cream.
The best thing about my mom is she plays with me."

Even though I actually don't wear Red Sox Jammies, and believe it or not, I am slightly older than 5, I was moved to tears. It's nice to be recognized by the little rascal and to know that he loves me in his own special way.

The Instigator

I realize that often I write more about Evan. This has nothing to do with favoritism. Nor is it a result of Eli being boring or any less bright than his brother. Quite the contrary, Eli is just as quirky, smart and funny as his brother. Evan just happens to be what Pat and I refer to as a "resource hog", meaning he commands a disproportional amount of time and attention. Not to mention that his anctics are usually noteworthy.

However, since we've been home from India, Eli has been changing rapidly and becoming his own little person. And while there is a strong family resemblance, he couldn't be any more different than his brother. For starters he likes to play quietly by himself. A most golden trait and clearly one he did not learn from Evan.

He also enjoys instigating trouble, which is perhaps his most amusing trait, and clearly one he inherited from his father. Eli loves to rile up his brother. And while it is often funny, it can also be frustrating. Eli will toddle by and pull his brother's hair, or give him a playful shove. Or best of all, yell - just for sport. This makes Evan (and me) crazy. In response, Evan will scream back in anger. Sensing a game, Eli will scream again. Back and forth they scream, Evan in anger, Eli for fun. My efforts at a talking resolution are usually screamed over, and then I too have to yell to be heard. Good times. This fun little exercise usually ends with a distraction for Eli and a reprimand for Evan, who just doesn't seem to understand that his screaming makes it worse.

But the boys have plenty of fun together too. They wrestle and play ball together, and they have also invented their own games of restaurant and library that they quietly and happily play together. A little brother was just what Evan needed.

Eli is a funny little guy and had been the perfect addition to our lives. In addition to his screaming and instigating, he has many other hobbies including:

Unrolling entire rolls of toilet paper.
Putting scraps of said TP into the toilet.
Throwing and retrieving his ball
Walking like Frankenstein
Growling
Playing Legos
Harassing his brother

The cheese stick

At some point last week amidst all the tooth pain and not eating I offered Evan a cheese stick. He loves them, and I thought it might be soft enough to eat. I was sadly mistaken. He tried to take a bit of the cheese stick and immediately melted into tears.

"I can't bite it Mommy" he sobbed.

It was so sad. He reminded me three times that day that he couldn't eat the cheese stick. Which was not only sad but frustrating since he actually wanted to eat it, and because we still didn't know why he couldn't. But the kicker was when we went to the dentist two days later, the dentist asked him if his tooth was still bothering him. Of course, Evan, with his razor sharp memory, says, "Yes. I can't eat the cheese stick." So, so sad.

Well, this afternoon I unwrapped a cheese stick for Eli's afternoon snack and put it on the counter. Evan walked by, saw the cheese stick and said, "Mmmm. Cheese stick. Can I eat it?"

As soon as he had taken his first bite, mouth full of cheese, Evan excitedly exclaimed, "I can eat the cheese stick! Mommy, I can eat the cheese stick again!"

Who knew a cheese stick could make two people so happy?

Grocery Store

We made a family outing to the grocery store tonight. The boys and I usually go during the day, but tonight Pat joined us. Given the delighful addition of an extra set of hands we were able to split up to tackle the list. I stopped at the deli to order the cold cuts and Pat and the boys got ahead. As the man from the deli was slicing the cheese (insert your own fart joke here) we heard the sound of Eli shrieking with delight at the top of his lungs. Immediately followed by Evan joining in unison. The store was otherwise quiet on this Sunday night, except for the noisy mischief coming from the Kaplo cart. The man at the deli shook his head and said "Wow".

I blushed. "That one is mine." I said.

"Doesn't sound like much fun." He offered sympathetically.

"Actually" I countered, "Believe it or not, those are happy noises. It's more fun than it sounds".

He smiled and shook his head one more time ,"I'm sure it is."

I claimed my cheese and set out to find the cart full of shrieking children, which was easy to track. I found them six aisles away (yes, six), still shrieking and laughing as they drew smiles from their fellow shoppers.

The Tooth Fairy

Evan shows off his tooth

If there is a silver lining to a tooth extraction at age 3 1/2 it's a visit from the Tooth Fairy! The day before the extraction I secretly bought a cool "Lightning McQueen" matchbox car. (For those not in the know, Lightning McQueen is an animated car from Evan's all time favorite movie "Cars". )

Thursday night I read him The Berenstein Bears Visit the Dentist. Sister Bear has a loose tooth that the dentist "wiggles" out for her and then the tooth fairy comes. It seemed like a good primer for what was to come. As Pat put him to bed I overheard him say that; "Dr. Englander (or Gan-ged-ger as Evans says) is going to wiggle my tooth out tomorrow." I was pleased that he understood.

I was anxious all morning, but Evan was excited to go see the dentist. I was sent to the waiting room during the extraction where I could hardly sit still. Fifteen minutes later they came to get me and told me he had been a great patient. My heart was racing. I was sure he would be a crying mess when I went in. Instead he was sitting calmly in the chair and was happy to see me. He chose a dinosaur finger puppet as his prize from the treasure chest for being such a super patient. He slipped it on his finger and immediately started growling at everyone. To my delight, I saw the wild, playful boy I had been missing all week.

The only time he was upset all day was when the novocaine wore off. He did not like the tingling sensation and was upset for a few minutes. Otherwise he had a great day and even had some food, and lots of ice cream - per the dentist's orders.

When it was time for bed Evan didn't want the tooth under his pillow. So we put it on his monkey throw pillow beside his bed for the Tooth Fairy to find.

This morning I woke to an excited whisper. "Mommy! It's Lightning McQueen!" I opened my eyes to see Evan holding the car with a huge smile on his face.

"Did the Tooth Fairy bring you that?" I asked

"YES! The Tooth Fairy bringed me Lightning McQueen for my tooth!"

That brief fleeting moment was a small bright spot in what had otherwise been a very difficult week.

From bad to worse...

Last week was hard. Exhausting. Frustrating. By Sunday evening I was sure we'd turned the corner. But Sunday night things were really just beginning. Evan was awake again all night complaining of tooth pain. Back to the dentist first thing Monday morning. They put him on antibiotics and told me to keep an eye on things - (as though I weren't). At the same time Pat had been diagnosed with Strep Throat and was a miserable mess. By Monday afternoon Evan had a high fever and a swollen face. Since he had just started the antibiotics I knew I needed to wait 24 hours, and worked on treating the fever.

The fever broke on Tuesday, but his face was still swollen. He still wouldn't eat and continued to complain of pain. I called the dentist again. This time they discovered it wasn't the new crowns bothering him, but an abscessed tooth on the bottom. It would have to come out. My heart sank, but at least we knew why he was still in pain. We scheduled the extraction for Friday to give the increased dose of antibiotics time to work.

For the next couple of days Evan was comfortable and happy enough as long as the Tylenol was working. When it wore off he was miserable. He was still refusing to eat - even ice cream - which should be an indication of just how miserable he was. I made his favorite smoothies and sneaked in some tofu for extra protein, and then I bought some Ensure (chocolate milk to Evan) to make sure he was getting the nutrition he needed to fight this infection.

Evan is a challenge on his best day, but when he isn't sleeping or eating and is in near constant pain the word "challenge" seems quaint. He was irritable, combative and prone to screaming tantrums in very public places. Despite all of this I maintained my patience and treated him calmly. I knew what he was suffering through, I have been through it all. It breaks my heart that he had to inherit my terrible teeth. It's unjust. I remember when I was pregnant being fearful to the point of tears that his teeth would be bad like mine. I know it was and is beyond my control and I know I have much to be thankful for. Both of my boys are very healthy, bright and beautiful. I have been very fortunate. As a child I suffered through dozens of dental surgeries and I survived. It wasn't fun or easy, but I got through it and he will too. I just wish he didn't have to. Especially given the aggravation and missed diagnosis of this past week. Despite all he went through he looked forward to going to the dentist and was a super patient.

The Infirmary

This has been a tough week. Not only has the weather been miserable, but our family's health has been as well. Evan came home from school on Monday vomiting. The fever came on Tuesday. Wednesday Eli was diagnosed with a double ear infection. Then Evan stayed up all of Friday night complaining of tooth pain. Saturday morning I took him to the dentist where he ended up with two stainless steel crowns. Somewhere in the midst of all of this Pat and I each came down with a head cold. I can't remember my last full night's sleep. We are all tired and frankly overwhelmed (at least I am). But I am hoping the worst is now behind us, and we can now look forward to some rest, good health, and sunshine.