Still infected

I took Jacob to the doctor today. She said he obviously is still infected with MRSA, a strong bacterial infection he was diagnosed with at 2 mos. It tends to live on the skin once you've got it. I got some more strong antibacterial soap and was also instructed to treat any bumps with the Bactroban and give him a bath in bleach solution.

Bumpy boy

Jacob always has some red bumps on him. They aren't simple baby zits because he's too old to have lots of those, they last too long to be those, and are too scabby to be those.

Two months ago he got four mosquito bites. At least I'm 99% sure they were moquito bites because I saw some mosquitos right where we had been. Well, they got to be horrible looking!
Here's a picture of two of the mosquito bites a few days after he got them. They improved over time and are all but gone now, but it's been 2 months and there is still a remnant. I think that's an extreme reaction to a mosquito bite.

Anyway, this morning after he woke up he had an ugly-looking blister on his foot! Later in the day it popped. Any idea what in the world is going on? Here's a picture of his foot today, after the blister popped:
I am treating it with Bactroban (prescription-strength antibiotic ointment) to prevent infection since it's such an open sore, and I'm sure it will be okay, but the cause is what is mysterious to me. He had chicken pox in June and they were big and weird-looking as well, although sparse, and they healed up like normal chicken pox. Anyway, the reason I'm posting this is to see if anyone has had experience with something like this.

Update: Oct. 27: He was diagnosed with MRSA, a strong bacteria.

Day off

Don't faint because I'm writing this less than three months after my last entry!

Today is a day off school for the kids (It's Educator's Day, when the teachers to go workshops) and has been really fun for me. Not only did I get to avoid bus stop deadlines, but I got to relax and soak in the fun of having such cute kids. And I went to bed early last night. Otherwise I wouldn't be feeling so great.

First, Brandon was so kind and thoughtful during breakfast. Emily started out the day not feeling too hot because, she said, she was up beginning at 5 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep due to a lot of "hullabaloo" regarding her nose. As a result, she's been pretty cranky today, so when Brandon poured a little pink lemonade for himself and for Nathan at breakfast and Emily saw very little left in the pitcher, she slammed the pitcher down on the table (splashing some onto the floor) and threw a fit. I decided to mostly ignore her behavior for the moment (and she sort of "cleaned it up"). She calmed down and asked Brandon nicely if she could have a little of his lemonade. He kindly gave her ALL of his lemonade. Classic tender, generous Brandon. Later in the day when I sent Emily up to her room for "rest time" when she was again being difficult, Brandon hopped up and gave her one of her "American Girl" books to take upstairs to read. She had already read it and said so. Well, if not Emily, at least I acknowledged Brandon's nice gesture!

Anyway, I don't mean to give Emily a bad rap. We'll cut her some slack since she's a little sick!

So for the day off today, after Jacob's nap we went to the post office, the bank, the library, and the park by the library. It was just a nice time, and the kids were good and happy. It's blustery today (typhoon passing near) and a couple pieces of mail blew away from my pile, and Emily and Brandon chased them down . It was a remarkable moment to me because it reminded me that I've finally passed the point where I have to do all the work all the time! I just waited with Jacob and Nathan while the others ran down the sidewalk after it!

Brandon brought along a picture he had brought home from school the other day and colored with colored pencils. It looked so nice that he was really proud of it, so he showed the bank teller, post office clerk, and librarian. The bank teller didn't notice it right away, so he said, "Look, Miss." I loved that!

At the park there's a set of four swings--two baby swings and two big-kid swings, and I enjoyed seeing all four of my happy kids lined up on them (all wearing shades of red). I should've brought my camera!

Cute things Nathan said today: When he was crying, he said, "I need some milk to feel me better." Later he made an announcement for me: "Mom Gentlemen, come here" (in the tone of "Ladies and Gentlemen"). Then he whispered it, and I thought he was so cute that I asked him to do it again so I could take a video:

This past Sunday in Relief Society we discussed the CES Fireside talk by Elder Bednar called "Things as they Really Are" and someone made the comment that some people's blogs make their lives sound too rosey. I don't mean to make my life appear better than it is. A friend of Paul's who reads our blog told me this summer that it seems like I'm a really calm person, from what I write in the blog. My response was that I just don't write in the blog when I'm flustered! I do often feel like writing in here to complain, but I never do because I think I would probably regret it later. Anyway, today is one of the good days of really appreciating my kids. Now to come up with something to make for dinner that might not result in kid-whining. (Very hard to do.)

AH! Update--Paul just called and said he got a free cheese pizza that he's going to bring home for dinner. Wow, the great day continues!

Fun kid stuff

Nathan really wanted to make his own PB&J sandwich for lunch (like Emily and Brandon often do for their lunchboxes), so I let him. Here he is with his creation. He only ate the middle part since that's the only part with any peanut butter and jelly! He asked to make his sandwich the next couple of days as well, so I let him, but helped with the edges this time. (By the way, I've been enjoying focusing on Nathan more than before, now that Brandon's in school.)

"Want that ball...want that ball..."

"Yay!"


They made a throne and said Jacob was the king.


Emily's assignment was to paste a photo or draw a picture of something in each box that was important to her in each year of her life.



Jacob loves the remote.



Nathan made a big mess of Cheerios so I had him vacuum them up as a consequence. He had so much fun doing it that I'm not sure it was much of a punishment!

Brandon and Jacob get along well. They even share a room now! (But this took place in the living room.)

Emily came home one day and said, "I know how to jump rope!"After all these years of wanting to do it, she finally arrived! (Play video.)

Little Bunny Foo Foo (Nathan Style)

Listening to Nathan sing on the way home from church today, I was thinking how much I'd love to get it on video, but didn't think he'd do it on demand at home. Then I realized I had my camera in the car, so I captured it! (And showed a little bit of Jacob for you.)