All bundled up

We took a walk with Logan and the dogs to the local post office so that I could get a few more late holiday cards mailed out today.

Check out his new cute mittens and matching hat that Daddy bought him! :) (he looks a little dorky but the hat is actually meant to cover his ears like that)

He did figure out how to get his hat off finally, but the mittens miraculously stayed on (partly because they are basically like big socks over his hands with no thumb action for him to grab stuff!) We'll see how long they last on him while up in Tahoe....

Still Sick :(

Logan seems to be getting a tiny bit better each day, but overall still sick, the poor guy. He switches between the happy go lucky guy we know and love, playing and laughing and flashing his big grin, to an unhappy needy really miserable and sad looking kid really quickly. It's been tough.

Yesterday, Jon stayed home with Logan since I needed to get back to the office to get some work done. But, unfortunately, it was also the day that PG&E had scheduled some work to be done on the pole that services power to our entire block.

Lights out at 9am. And, didn't come back on until 6pm.

So, Jon did the best he could in the morning playing with Logan (and working on his laptop since he had a few hours of battery juice he could use), but after awhile, the boys started getting pretttttty cold! It was about 44 F outside yesterday, so it was probably only 55-60 F inside the house. Still, it feels pretty damn cold when the heater isn't on. I know, I know, us Californians are real wimps. :)

Luckily, the (indoor) mall is close by! So, Jon bundled the two of them up and headed off to the mall where they joined several other stay at home moms, window shopping while doing laps with their strollers. Jon bought a few key items like slippers for himself and a few beanies for Logan (we noticed we didn't have anything to keep his head warm the other night when we went out for a walk). They'll both come in real handy for our trip up to Tahoe soon.

When Logan was ready for his afternoon nap, Jon brought him back home and bundled him up REAL tight in his crib to keep him warm. And then once Logan woke up again, it was back out for another trip, this time to Barnes and Noble, another favorite spot of Jon's. ;-) It actually sounded like the boys had a really nice day skipping work for the afternoon!

I, myself, had an interesting afternoon, where I spent a couple hours visiting with another acupuncturist. This time I went to see a specialist in scalp acupuncture that my parents had recommended to me, and I felt like it was a much better visit this time around. The treatments are all done with needles in your scalp - which sounds scary but it's actually not. And, what's more, it allows you the flexibility and movement to walk around! So, instead of a nice relaxing nap like most people have when they visit their acupuncturist, I had to do several exercises while the doctor worked on the needles. I actually liked this approach much better, since I felt like I was DOING something and contributing to the healing process. It's like the Chinese version of Physical Therapy! ;-)

On the flip side, if you're not used to seeing needles, it is a tad strange to see them sticking out all over your head and anyone else's head that is there getting treated too. :) Even more, they actually want you to keep the needles in for as long as you can and send you home with them still stuck in your scalp! (I took them out just before our trip up to the city last night since I didn't think people would understand if I had a bunch of needles poking out while watching Phantom) hehe

They also put an herbal patch (to calm down the inflammation) on my back, and sent me home with some herbal tea to drink 2-3x a day for my cold (thank you Logan!). I'm not as crazy about the herbal stuff (it tastes awful) but I'm willing to try anything for a couple times before rejecting it completely. I also liked this doctor a lot more than the last, so I'd be open to seeing her again. She wants me to come at least 2x a week (!!!) which is a little bit hard to swallow since none of these visits are covered by insurance and let me tell you folks. ACUPUNCTURE. AIN'T. CHEAP.

*sigh*

So, we'll see. I think I'll go back to see her at least a couple more times. I felt like my back improved slightly from the visit (my range of motion afterward was much better) so I think it's worth giving it a chance. And, if not, at least I tried and we can move onto something else.....

Phantom

Last night my parents treated us to our THIRD outing sans Logan. We went up to the city to see the Phantom of the Opera. It was the first time for Jon but I'd seen it before as a young kid. Still, I'm glad I saw it again - since I hadn't remembered some of the storyline.

The show was excellent, we had GREAT seats and we had a really nice time, even if we're both a little under the weather and it was a "school night". And, even better, we got to sleep in this morning since Logan stayed overnight at my parents for his 2nd night away from home!! :)

Thanks Mom and Dad!

Icky Sicky

Yesterday morning I got another one of those dreaded calls from Logan's preschool. He had a fever of a little over 101. :( I picked him up, and he was clearly not doing well, poor guy. His doctor wanted to see him since his fever was accompanied by a persistent cough and congestion that had been giving him trouble sleeping the last few days (I had just waved it off as another head cold but the fever got me worried enough to call, good thing I did!).

As it turns out, he has a pretty nasty upper and lower respiratory infection - so we picked up some antibiotics at the pharmacy and I took care of him all afternoon, juggling nap time and work calls at the same time. He was in pretty bad shape though - and really having a hard time feeling so crummy. I've never seen him this upset or icky feeling before. :( So, I played hookie and took the day off to take care of him today (his doctor said he shouldn't be around other kids for at least 48 hrs, since he's likely still contagious).

We had a pretty good day - we hung out at my Dad's house most of the day since today our housecleaner comes by to help keep my life sane. He had trouble going down for an afternoon nap however, so we finally headed home so I could try to put him down for a 2nd nap. That did not work out too well. He was EXHAUSTED. Yet, he FOUGHT like hell to stay awake. At one point, I'm pretty sure he was screaming and crying in my ear for about 2 hrs straight.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted myself and counting the minutes until Jon walked through the door. Since Logan resisted his nap sooo much, Jon and I decided to take him out for a nice long walk with the dogs in freezing cold weather (it was 38 F!) :) I took the opportunity to try out our new jogging stroller that Jon just bought too - and as much as I had resisted the large price tag, it sure is a nice smooooooth ride. :)

I guess the walk with festive Christmas lights, or the chilly air against his face, finally calmed him down, because he went to bed shortly afterwards when we got home (it took awhile, he just wanted to cuddle in my arms with that dazed sick look in his eyes, but at least he didn't fight me about it).

Since I took the day off today, Jon's got babysitting duties tomorrow. Hopefully, we've seen the worst of this bug and Logan will be better very soon!!

Our little helper

Apparently my tupperware cabinet (and plastic bag drawer and area where the paper bags are kept) needs re-arranging.


This is the latest activity that Logan likes to do while Mommy's in the kitchen making dinner or cleaning bottles, etc.


We call it HELPING OUT around the house.

A Night Alone

Logan stayed overnight at my parent's house last night while Jon and I enjoyed our first night alone without the little guy! We had a nice night out and slept in this morning. As we were going to bed last night, Jon said "I'm so excited about getting a full night's rest that I can't fall asleep!" :)

Logan was great with my parents, didn't wake them up in the middle of the night (my biggest fear) and was very playful and easy going all morning. *whew*

Thanks Mom and Dad!!

Birthday Dinner

A few days late but wanted to do another post about Logan's birthday so I could share a few more pics of his big day (click on any of these to see the full album). :)


We had a really casual low keyed birthday celebration for Logan. We went to his daddy's favorite pizza joint (Giovanni's) where he munched on pasta, pizza and cheesy garlic bread. YUM!


My parents and brothers joined us since they are all in the area. He was in a great mood (surprisingly, given he had a number of shots earlier in the day) and laughed and giggled and smiled for anyone who would look his way.


Afterward we headed to our house for some good ol' chocolate birthday cake and a few presents from his faraway grandparents in Washington state (a fun Rock 'n Ride Pony!) and Texas (a crazy bead maze cube).




He loved all the new toys of course, but faded pretty quickly after the sugary rush of cake - so I put him down for the night and hung out with my mom to catch up on life while "the boys" talked pool strategy (my dad just got a new pool table) and poker (where they started a late game) all night.











It was a perfect evening to Logan's big day. Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes and wonderful gifts! He is loving every single one of them. :)