Random bits of life

He still fits in the sink! 

Awful iphone photo but Sean "surprised" me with his cheetah face shadings. He said this is to help the cheetahs see better, preventing glare or something. 

Sean's first day of 4th grade. He was in public school for 2 days...that's as long as he could take it. The first day was fine, he went in smiling, but afterward he said the length of the day combined with the first week binder/paper setup combined with the teacher talking nonstop while he's supposed to focus and listen (lol) was over the top for him. Not sure he got the perspective we were hoping he'd gain but we it wasn't important enough for us to physically force him to go. Once we move on base (if we ever sell the house) we won't have the opportunity to put him in public school unless an inner DC school sounds attractive to us. Which it doesn't.

Pea is so easy to teach. She balks about some of the new things, like the beginning narration we've started, but she generally gets her work done without much fuss. Thank heavens b/c Sean is still a pill about his school work!

An Instagram picture of our sweet Pea. Before she asked for bangs. :/

Not sure why but this didn't stress me out that day!

Concentrating

Playing on the banks of the picturesque yet filthy Potomac. This did stress me out and we didn't stay on the "beach" long.

One of Kieran's birthday presents was this Melissa and Doug reusable sticker pad. The stickers were the static cling vinyl guys and work well on windows too. The older kids play more with this.

Another Kieran gift. Super Moose, a balancing game. Too hard for Kieran but Pea on up to Daddy really enjoys this.

Kieran styled his own hair and is wearing a new shirt from Grammy and Grampy.

Getting measured at his well-child appointment.

He was such a trooper during his appointment.

Trying out the t-ball set from Aunt Erin and Uncle John the night of his birthday.

He really enjoys this Lowly Worm book from Daddy.

Sean's rash. This thing has caused such trouble for him and us! See the bull's eye? See the yellowing? With his fever and fatigue and rather debilitating headaches, he presented all the signs (except for the actual puncture mark) of Lyme disease.  His doctor said it was a different bacterial infection and prescribed 10 days of an antibiotic. I specifically asked him why he didn't think it was Lyme and he said three reasons: The location of the rash, his age and that fevers don't accompany the rash with Lyme disease. That sent red flags up with me b/c everything I've read (and I know google experts don't really count) said that fevers are a symptom of Lyme (with or without the rash) and that Lyme can affect humans of all ages. (The CDC website included.) We decided to get a second opinion b/c if it was Lyme, an incorrect diagnosis could cause life long problems for Sean. The best plan would be to get him on antibiotics much longer (coupled with probiotics) to offset the potential Lyme. The second opinion doc said it was Classic Lyme disease and to get him on 21 days of Augmentin immediately. He said we should get baseline blood work even though Lyme is tricky and doesn't always show up (and the tests aren't always accurate). Went back to first doc and he stood by his original diagnosis. I asked for blood work and an extension on his antibiotics. (We almost never go to the doctor, and I usually avoid antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. I understand the over-prescribing of antibiotics is something to be concerned with but, when push comes to shove and our child's health may be at stake, I had no problem confronting him about this.) He refused so I then told him about the second opinion. He discounted everything the other doctor suggested. Grrrr. I was prepared for him to not agree to everything but his lack of concern for MY concern about Sean really set me off. I had had no sleep the night before from worrying about this and was not in the mood for caring about confrontation. The second doc specifically mentioned that the blood work might show Lyme titers (antibodies as I understand it.) The first doc laughed and said that that isn't true. Since then, I've done research and found that it IS true. We don't know that it's Lyme but we're not taking any chances. The doc finally acquiesced and ordered blood work for Sean and referred him to an infectious disease specialist. Blood work results haven't come in yet. The referral was a bust b/c the doctor doesn't accept children. Getting a new referral from Sean's doctor has been an exercise in patience as my calls to the office have resulted in zilch. "We'll call you before noon." But I never got a call until I called the insurance company and complained.  Sean is in good health now, as far as we can tell. The big test will be to see how he is after the antibiotics are finished. (The second opinion doc gave us a prescription for an extra 14 days just in case his PCM wouldn't prescribe them.) Longest. Caption. Ever. :)