Seriously? My bitch of a post.

I should've stayed in bed today. I would've been much happier. Oh, except I couldn't because WE. DON'T. HAVE. HEAT. Perhaps not a big deal to someone in Florida, but considering we had a smallish snowstorm last night and high winds that brought the windchill factor down to the teens...well, guess what? It is a big deal.

And since I couldn't stay home, I had to venture into the office where walking conditions were dicey at best. It's pathetic when someone has to hold you by the elbow to make sure you don't fall. But the topper? The fire alarm. Yes, the fire alarm, which forced me to hobble down three flights of stairs and then stand outside on the slippery pavement. All because the kitchen downstairs burned something.

Finally, I would like to thank the individual (patient zero) who passed around the stomach bug that appears to have taken hold in my abdomen. Because the bronchitis wasn't enough. Nor the "are you kidding me" moments I had all morning. I have to feel like shit on top of it all.

Done. Ranting.

Will it ever go away?

I'm speaking, of course, about the nasty poison ivy that's been plaguing me since the July 4th weekend. I was able to get rid of the worst of it - thanks to a lovely prescription from my allergist - but something I own and wear regularly still has Urushiol oil toxin on it because I. keep. getting. itchy. poison. ivy. spots.

After washing almost everything, I believe I've found the culprit - my wetsuit. I wore it prior to two new breakouts and the new spots have only appeared on my arms and in a ring around my neck...right where my wetsuit wraps.

Looks like I'll be spending my evening shampooing my wetsuit. With gloves on. Even better, I'll have my husband do it.

Bacteria Swim

Um, should I be nervous now? I mean, it's not like I'm swimming in the Merrimack or anything. Oh, wait; yes, I am.

Number of Sick Triathletes Increases...

No more mango salsa for me

Because apparently I'm allergic to the little bastards. Who knew?

I became allergic to strawberries during my pregnancy with Petra, but never had issues with any other fruit, until now. I was at my Web design firm for a meeting yesterday and we ordered takeout from The Purple Onion, a lovely little restaurant in Newburyport. Since I'm watching my food intake, I ordered what I thought would be a tasty, but still appropriate dish - the mango pineapple salsa rice bowl with shrimp (sans cheese). And it was. Tasty and appropriate. That is until I couldn't clear my throat and lost my voice.

I was fortunate. It didn't get much worse than that and one of the women in the office had both Benadryl and an epipen (took the former; didn't need the latter). But it scared the bejesus out of me. I mean, who in the hell is allergic to mango? And why now?

I called my doctor after I calmed down - because I was a wreck - and scheduled an allergy eval for November 5th (the soonest they could see me). Until then, I'll stay away from the forbidden fruit (get it? Forbidden). And keep Benadryl in my purse.

A day in the life...

Preface
We attended a cousin's birthday party on Saturday and ate ourselves silly. In particular, Miss Rae Rae decided that she would eat not only her food, but her two-year old cousin's. Needless to say, she puked it all up when we got home. We assumed the child had just overeaten. We were wrong.
____________________

Monday evening, 7pm
I arrive home with the girls at our normal time, ready to feed them and the dogs before heading out to a work-related dinner. I make Rae Rae a delish meal of nuggets, green peas and corn bread and fed Petra her favorite, tomato soup. Feeling comfortable, I leave the girls in their father's charge and head to a local restaurant to meet my colleagues for dinner.

Mon, 9pm
My phone beeps urgently. I look down to see that my husband has called a few times, which does not bode well. I call home to find out that Petra has been vomiting violently for the past half hour and has the chills. I leave my colleageus and race home.

15 min later...
I arrive home to find my older girl child puking and crying, saying, "Mommy, please get rid of the sick." I stay with her on the couch (where she's more comfortable) and put a bucket by her head. I notice that I don't feel so well either, but attribute that to the wonderful, but rich meal I just ate. Wrong again.

Tuesday morning, 12:30 am
I realize with horror that Petra isn't the only one who's sick as I race to the bathroom for the first of many puking sessions. At some point, when nothing else comes up, I sit hunched over the toilet, dry-heaving and thinking that I really need to just die or at least stop puking...neither of which happens.

Tuesday morning, 4am
Based on my calculations, I've now puked approx. seven times with several hurls each sitting. I've also been up almost all night with no sleep. Fortunately, it appears that I have rid myself of whatever toxic virus attacked my body and I actually manage to get two hours of sleep before the baby wakes.

Tuesday, ROD
I lie on the couch immobile next to Petra, who although sick, is well enough to ask me for something every five minutes and my husband, who came down with the illness about two hours after I did. Fortunately, I was able to extricate myself from the bathroom long enough this morning to take Rae Rae to school (that was the longest trip of my life) knowing there is no way Natche or I can take care of her right now. Rae Rae, of course, suffered the least and is happy as a clam.

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I'm not sure I can entirely articulate how horrible this stomach bug/flu actually was. It was, perhaps, the sickest I've been in a very long time and that says a lot...I've had shingles, dammit...and I can't believe how quickly it passed. While weak and exhausted today, I am, nonetheless, better.

Now, if I could just find the daycare child who got us sick...

Has it been that long?

I realize it's been a while since I updated my personal blog, but I didn't know exactly how long until I logged in...ten days. Wow. I've been busy!

To bring you up to speed quickly, in the past ten days, I've:

• Started a new job with Quaero - www.quaero.com, a marketing services company based in Charlotte, NC, with offices in Burlington, MA. As the vice president of marketing, my job is to help the company position itself for future growth and (of course) generate revenue.
• Celebrated Raya's first birthday! How in the hell did that happen? The child was just born, like two weeks ago, right? Miss Thang runs around like a crazy person and has developed a lovely banshee-like screech that forces us to leave restaurants mid-meal. Yes, it's true.
• Watched as the evil sickness returned in full force. Rae Rae can't seem to catch a break, despite turning one. She's had a bi-lateral ear infection for who-knows-how-long and has been on every antibiotic under the sun. The only good news is there's a light at the end of the tunnel: Raya will have tubes put in on June 4.
• Been to the nose doctor to find out what's up with my poor and hurting beak (apparently nothing more than trauma).

So that's it. I haven't been up to much, huh?

Pardon my brevity...

...But I'm blogging from my BlackBerry.

I'm home. Not working. Rae Rae has the croup and a double ear infection and is at present crawling all over me, snotting as she goes.

I don't recall Petra being this active nor this destructive. Rae Rae is just dangerous!

On another note, Petra is participating in the March of Dimes Wonder Walk today at school.Her coin race begins next Tuesday so if you have any extra coins laying around, please send them her way. Or, if you're a little mean-spirited (like I am) send dollar bills - you can sabotage another class by stuffing bills in its coin jar. It's all for a good cause - the March of Dimes.

I'll try and write again later...when Miss Monster goes to sleep.

Why is it...

...that mom traveling = sick kids? I swear, the minute I get on a plane, my children come down with random ailments that require doctors' visits and daddy daycare. The illnesses du jour include croup (Petra) and a stomach bug (Rae Rae) that mysteriously manifested themselves yesterday morning...just as I left for PA.

The good news is that both will be feeling much better by the time I return and will be well over their respective illnesses. At least I hope so. In the meantime, I have to call my husband every other hour to talk him off the ledge.

Must. Sleep.

So the baby was healthy for all of ONE day. She is once again blowing some serious snot bubbles and I know this because Petra alerts us with the cry, "Mommy, we have a boogie emergency!" (I kid you not).

Needless to say, I haven't slept in two days. I'm exhausted and having trouble functioning (although remarkably, I was able to write two emails and a session proposal, both of which were decent).

As a result, Natche and I will go back on shifts. He'll take the 10pm - 2am slot and I'll take 2-6. It's not ideal, but it's really the only way to guarantee that we each get a solid 4-5 hours of sleep.

And yes, we have a humidifier and yes, we're using those Glade plug-in things (Vicks vapor plug-ins, but I like to call them Glade because it pisses off Natche). There really isn't much more we can do, except perhaps stick a tube in her nose for continuous suctioning of boogie material.

Um, does something like that exist?

Raya, don't follow in your sister's footsteps!

I took Raya to the doctor's office this morning because she appears to be going through puberty. At eight months. No, but seriously, she has ten or so pimply-like lesions on her face and the rash needed to be addressed.

We were seen quickly by our favorite NP, MaryAnn, who informed me quickly that Raya has impetigo, a contagious rash that requires antibiotics. How did she get it? The evil sickness. From Web MD: "Children may get impetigo after they have had a cold or allergies that have made the skin under the nose raw." Um, yeah. That would be it.

But that's not all, friends! After listening to Raya's chest and looking into her ears, MaryAnn also diagnosed Raya with bronchiolitis and an ear infection (Petra's most common ailments). Because, you know, we're the worst parents on the planet and had no idea she had anything more than a nasty-looking rash.

I swear, parenting is tough. And as my friend Al put it, if the child isn't struggling to breathe, we tend not to call the doctor. And to be clear, there was and is no wheezing with Rae Rae.

So instead of working today, I am at home with a sick child watching 10 Years Younger.