Fall is here

I can nearly smell it...fall creeps in quietly, but it can't hide from me...I know it's here...I haven't failed to notice the tips of some leaves changing...the wind and the rain...I being to get the itch to stay home...cook...sew even(?)...

I LOVE this time of the year!!!

Smooth...

I love days that go off without a hitch. Today has been one of those kind of days.

I'be been reading a new book - "Have a New Kid by Friday" by Dr. Kevin Leman.

Don't get me wrong. I think my kids are fantastic...in my opinion, books like these deal far more with parenting problems than with kid problems.

I am a softie and let things go until I yell...there, I admitted it and admitting is, apparently, the first step.

The idea behind the book is that you should only have to ask your kids to do something (or stop doing something) once. It gives strategies for parents to turn kids who tune out into kids who listen...and reasons to stay calm. I think most of us can use some of these.

I am already using some of these strategies successfully and I can honestly say that I have not yelled once today...so far, so good.

We tidied the upstairs and throughly cleaned the kitchen, had a playdate, a snack and played with playdough. Visited the park, had lunch and put a loaf of bread in the breadmaker. Liam voluntarily pooped on the potty (which is good because it would have been messy) then I went upstairs with the boys and told them it was time for a nap...they are still sleeping.

Alan is due home in 2 hours and we will have a salad, fresh loaf of bread and soup for dinner.

I love smooth days...

Mumbo Jumbo Part Deux....

So...remember Aunt Moira and the funeral?

I was wrong...SO incredibly wrong...bad things don't happen in threes...they just HAPPEN.

Smooch had a headache last week...actually, both boys did. It was HOT outside and we played a LOT in the sun (but always with a hat and sunscreen). I chalked it up to the heat and maybe a little dehydration. I upped the boys fluids and Noggin seemed to feel better...but Smooch, not so much.

Saturday, while I was at a massage appointment, Alan, Smooch and Noggin attended a birthday party. They were there approx. 2 hours before noggin started to HOWL. He had a headache...on the way to pick me up, Noggin announced that he was going to throw up and promptly did...in a bag, thankfully.

He spent the next 12 hours gagging and retching. Eventually he stopped and was fine. That is Noggin for you, he gets sick and it's over.

Sunday night, Smooch goes to bed and all is well...he wakes me at 4 am, vomiting, with a headache and...(insert mumbo jumbo here)...stiff neck.

I get him some Tylenol and Advil (both work great together for migraines), we sit on the front step for an hour admiring the Tamarack in our yard while he vomits in an old ice cream bucket and eventually he is ready to go back to sleep.

He wakes up, no more vomiting, eats breakfast and I take him into the chiropractor (who does very gentle, non-manual adjustments) to see about the headaches and stiff neck. After his adjustment, he begins to throw up again...I take him back for another adjustment...his headache returns.

By 7pm I am convinced that he has Meningitis and take him to the Alberta Children's Hospital.

I was right.

After bloodwork, an IV and lumbar puncture it is confirmed that Smooch has viral meningitis.

Viral meningitis is caused by everyday cold, flu or entero-viruses and there is no vaccination to prevent it...not that it would help as Smooch is completely unvaccinated.

He is hospitalised and spends 3 days recuperating. He loves ACH...you get to lay in bed all day, watch treehouse, and they bring you food!

We are home now and he has no long-term effects...no short-term effects actually...he is completely back to his normal self.

Moms, listen to your intuition...it will not steer you wrong...

Oh and Aunt Moira...you suck.