Thursday, January 26, 2006

How 'Bout a Mouth Full of Chiclets

I've been walking around all day looking like I had a knuckle sandwich for my mid-morning snack.

At about 9:00 this morning, Ellie started coughing. I gave her some medicine for her congestion (almost 7 months since she caught "this cold;" we're going for a world record) and for the cough. The constant coughing was sad, so I made her some sugar-free hot chocolate, thinking that a hot beverage might help. Thankfully, I tested it before passing the cup to Ellie. It was very, very hot. I was startled and splashed it, burning my tongue and the skin from my upper lip to just under my nose on one side. It's very attractive today, but will probably be even more attractive once it scabs. Here's hoping.

Regardless, the medicine and hot chocolate failed to stop the cough, which also kept her from napping. Eventually, Ellie crashed and napped hard from about 4:15 until I woke her for dinner. I stayed up foolishly late last night and was exhausted today, so I'd been in a semi-somnolent state all day despite the gorgeous weather (in which we walked briefly, never fear).

She ate well, bathed well, played well, and went back to sleep well at bedtime. She woke up screaming a little while ago with a 102.5 degree fever, by far the highest she's had since we acquired the necessary equipment to measure such things (a good ear thermometer rather than one of those useless underarm ones).

Poor Ellie.

***

Here's an unrelated rant on diet. I'm on one. I hate dieting, but it's obviously necessary at this point. I'm a firm believer in exercise to control weight, and "moderation" is the only diet I really believe in. But things have been far beyond "moderation" for some time now, so desperate steps were necessary.

Paul's dieting too, and it's going well. To clarify: it's going well for him. My weight's been stagnate for a few weeks despite closely adhering to the plan. I know the solution: exercise. So that's the background.

I got a call from my mother-in-law last weekend. She asked how the diet was going and I said that it was going really well, etc. She talked to Paul the next day and they had a very similar exchange. She said that she was sending a care package for the three of us.

The package arrived yesterday. It had 2 outfits for Ellie (so cute!) and, and . . .
  • Sprinkles. Like for cookies.
  • Heart-shaped cookie cutters.
  • Two large bags of M&Ms, one with peanut (for me) and one plain (for Paul).

Seriously.

11 comments:

Jessica said...

Hope Ellie gets to feeling better...

And your mother-in-law? Hmmm...could it be (dare I say) sabotage?!

ccw said...

Can you say sabotage?? Why on earth would she send you such goodies? Maybe she thought you deserved a treat.

Hope Ellie feels better soon!

Sarahlynn said...

Exactly! "I deserve a treat" is how I got into this mess in the first place. But now I really understand why everyone in my husband's family tends toward heaviness . . .

Ellie was up with a high fever most of the night. I narrowly restrained myself from taking her to the ER (which I've never once done on my own in my whole life so it was significant that I was even considering it) but we're off to the doctor this morning. This parenting stuff is scarier than advertised. And I watch too much House.

mypetrock said...

It may not be sabotage. It may just be that she has no idea of how this whole dieting thing works.

I hope Ellie is feeling better today.

Anonymous said...

Ouch, burns are never fun, but the mouth-oh the pain. I hope Ellie is feeling better today.

We have been trying to eat healthier in our house as well, my mother's care packages always contain sweets as well. So much for eating healthy.

Mustang Sally said...

House is evil, verily.

Sending cool and soothing menthol thoughts to Miss Ellie, poor thing!

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh....you had m and ms in your house? I would have eaten the whole bag at once. methinks m.i.l. is not going to be thanked when you get to your goal.

Sarahlynn said...

The peanut M&Ms were very, very tempting. It's been nearly a month since I've tasted sugar, but the interval has not "broken the habit," as the books promised. I had an apple with natural peanut butter instead.

Oh, and as a nurse she should know what dieting's all about. Especially since her daughter has been on the same diet as Paul and me for 6 months and she's been on Weight Watchers for years herself.

***

Ellie had two very bad nights, but the new antibiotics for her chronic sinus infection have broken the fever and killed the cough. She still sounds a little congested, but that's after only 24 hours on antibiotics so we'll see if we found a miracle cure.

MS, I just saw the rerun of House with the newborn epidemic. OMG!

Sarahlynn said...

Three Kids, good suggestion, thanks! I'll ask the doctor next time.

Ellie's congestion is usually very slight and rarely bothers her at all. It's just that occasionally it flares up into a sinus infection.

I can't entirely blame the DS, though. I've had what I not-so-affectionately refer to as "the snot clot" in the back of my throat for months. I figure, if my super adult immune system can't kick this, how can her new little system be expected to clobber it?

Psycho Kitty said...

Aw, Sweets. What a trial. Sigh.
We should have a virtual exercise sistership or something. I keep telling myself that as soon as I start working from home in a few weeks, I will get on the bandwagon. Really, we're nearly at the point of no return. Steps must be Taken.

Sarahlynn said...

Oh, PK, it's great to "see" you here again!