Never Boring

Just a quick peek into the past week . . . life is never boring around here, whatever else it may be!

 Poor bud with hives, but still intent on riding his bike!

Last week Josiah had what we believe was an allergic reaction to the antibiotics (amoxicillin) he and the girls took for their second round of strep. It started with itchy hives in localized areas, but escalated into painful, swollen knees and feet. Because he had amoxicillin in September for our first round of strep, I thought he must be reacting to something else--but the pediatrician said a classic drug reaction happens at the tail end of the second round of the drug. Thankfully benadryl controlled the symptoms, and his hives and swelling were gone by Sunday.

Since the weekend, though, he's had redness and puffiness around his eyes. I wondered if we were headed toward another round of pink eye, though they haven't been bloodshot (the whites are still pretty white) or very gunky. He did get red eyes for several days before being diagnosed with strep this past time (2nd round), so that combined with some other complaints--tummy ache, headache, "just not feelin' good," tiredness (all occasional and not real impediments to his activity)--convinced me to take him into the doctor's today. Thankfully the quick strep test was negative! The PA sent out a second one for a culture, since the quick test has a 10-20% rate of error. We'll hear the definitive results on Monday. We're praying it's negative too. We would dearly love to avoid a third round of strep.

Anyway, the PA guesses Josiah has seasonal allergies. She suggested purchasing some eye drops--oh joy! I'm definitely looking forward to the tussle and wailing that will entail (or not).

On a lighter note, yesterday Josiah said encouragingly to Jeremy, "You're not so rude anymore, Dad!" He repeated the praise to me later on. Backhanded compliment?

 Proud Abby

The girls love wearing their bike helmets around--and trying out Josiah's bike when they get the chance. Today Josiah catapulted off his bike and tore into the house to go potty (the urge hits him fast). He yelled desperately behind him, "I hafta go potty! Don't let Abby get on my bike!"

Blurry Lydia

This cooler October weather (highs mostly in the low 90s, lows in the 60s) means lots more time outdoors, and I love it. Most mornings we take a walk or bike ride--Josiah atop his little bike, me pushing the double stroller with the girls or riding slowly alongside Josiah with the girls in the bike seat and trailer. Jeremy rides to work these days, and I round up the troops for a quick ride to meet him some evenings. The last few days Jeremy has gotten off early enough for us to ride to a nearby park before dinner.

Little broccoli plants!

Jeremy started our winter garden and planted winter grass in the front yard. Our onions and garlic have shot their greens high above the soil already, and our broccoli seedlings are adding leaves. The marigolds are sprouting and the squash is flowering. We'll see if the latter survives once the "cold" weather hits.

Almost daily we collect a few fallen lemons from the ground around our heavy-laden tree. The girls love this task--and would also love to pick green lemons from the limbs! When he gets a chance, Josiah likes to play what he calls "lemon-ball"--batting or punting lemons with pieces of PVC pipe, and then commissioning the girls to fetch the fruit from the corners of the yard. 

Well, more happened to keep life interesting, but I'm running out of steam on this meandering post, and you may not be reading it anymore, anyway! So there's a smattering of our week.