Little Feet

 My weeks are spent in the baby room. It's been a full three and half months now. I'm not sure if this a permanent placement or if one day they'll surprise me and send me back to the kitchen. 

The girls are attached to me now and leaving them would be hard on all of us. The older two (8 and 9 months) already cry when "strangers" come into the room. They all sit up independently, and two are crawling hands and knees. We've gone from strictly bottle feedings to pureed baby food. My 9 month old is almost ready for table food. It a beautiful, exhausting job.

It's winter and Valentines Day is the next big celebration so I've been redecorating the Infant Art Board. This means I paint the bottoms of their feet and then make the art. Then I call it theirs. Ha ha! I accidentally put Hannah's footprint on the paper upside down. Oops! Oh, well, I fixed it so it's all good.

Learning to Laugh at Myself

Did I happen to mention how I failed all the security measures at the airport on my home from Florida? I left a roll of dollar bills in my right from jeans pocket that showed up on the body scanner and because of that $23.00 I was subjected to a basic pat down. (They never inquired as to what I was sneaking through security.) Not only did I acquire a free pat down, but I was blessed with a "random" hand swab as well. I failed, and this failure earned me a second and more thorough pat down as well as a search of my belongings. "Would you like to go somewhere private?" asked the TSA agent. I wanted to laugh, but I  refrained. "No," I replied, and did not add, "whatever you need to do you can do in front of the entire airport," although I highly doubt anyone was interested in hanging around to watch. 

I probably don't need to tell you they found neither drugs nor explosives. The rest of the trip went by without incident, but back home I got really curious what in the world they could possibly have detected on my hands. I didn't have to dig deep. It had to have been glycerin. Used to make explosives, also used in oils and hand lotions. Just that morning I'd been curious about my grandson's cleansing oil and put a drop or two in my hand. I thought I was being sneaky. Guess not.

Yesterday I put my sweater on in the dark and wore it to work inside out. It's a navy and white, button up sweater with a winter pattern. I wore it for two hours before realizing my blunder. In the early morning dark of my bedroom I'd simply pulled it on over my head, never realizing I'd hung it up inside out. I don't know it anyone at work noticed before me. If they did, they certainly didn't let on. Ha ha! Good thing I can find the humor in being human. (It is funny, isn't it?) It's not near as hilarious as a wardrobe foible I had several years back. LOL!

Work was interesting this week. All of my babies were out Monday through Wednesday due to an "exposure." I went in when we opened and at 9 o'clock headed for the kitchen and did my old job for three days. At 12:30 pm I was free to go home. It was like an extended vacation after my three days off last week. Today we were back to "normal" (whatever that is) and I was back in the Infant Room with my four babies. What a crazy little bunch they are!

Marilyn, I'm sad that you haven't been able to leave comments. People have told me this in the past and yet I am set to accept all comments including those which are anonymous. I'm not sure how to fix this. Please keep trying or maybe set up a google account?

Pie and Pottery

Last Saturday, when I was home hobbling around on the ankle I'd rolled coming down the stairs on Friday, I found a bag of frozen elderberries in the freezer. Since I wasn't about to go out running around on a sore ankle, and the kitchen was clean, I decided to make a pie. It turned out beautiful! Perfect even, if you are a fan of Elderberry Pie. Which a few of us are. Well, two of us anyway...

I have a friend who loves elderberry pie very much and since it can be somewhat rare, I sent him a text to see if he was interested in a piece, since I had one with his name on it. Of course he was, it was catching up with him that was proving a challenge.
 

On Sunday evening I put two good sized slices of pie into a plastic box. I took it to work with me on Monday morning when it was really cold outside. On Monday evening, when Hannah and I visited the chiropractor's office, I asked my friend if he still wanted some pie. And did he still want to stop by and pick it up, or did he want the two pieces I had out in my car? He decided on the ones in my car. ha ha! I got a text later saying it was "the best supper ever!"

This morning he stopped by with something for me. A fluted pie plate/dish that he made at the pottery studio! Isn't that fabulous? I love it. And now I have this inner desire to fill it with Italian Cookies, probably because I didn't bake or eat any fancy Christmas cookies this year. It would also make a fantastic ice cream dish. I think it would be perfect for Fudge Ripple... :0)

Well That Stinks!

 Last Friday I felt a little bit of a tickle deep in my throat. I wasn't really coughing much at all, just feeling it now and again. My grandkids had been recovering from a cough while I was in Florida, nothing serious, just a cough, so I didn't think too much of it. I did, however, make sure to keep my mask up over my nose at work. 

Saturday came and went. Saturday evening I decided to do a test, just to be sure. Negative. Phew! Sunday morning I stayed home from church because I thought I should play it safe. I felt fine, just had that little bit of a tickle. Monday morning I went to work. Kept the mask on and made it through the day without incident, but found myself needing to clear my throat a little more often. I had no fever, no body aches, no sore throat, no fatigue.

Late Monday evening my nose started to prickle, almost like when you get water up your nose in a pool. It was slightly concerning but I've never had good luck calling into work and my test had been negative. I went to work Tuesday morning feeling okay. I had a sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich on the way and drank my coffee soon after arrival. It wasn't until my early morning potty break that I began to be concerned.

Sam mentioned something about one of the babies having a blowout. "It's probably Mara," I said, "I'll change her when I get back." There was a comment on my return about her having stunk up the whole room. I popped her up on the changing table and sure enough, she had pooped. There was a good amount there, but I wasn't smelling a thing. I held the open diaper closer to my face and sniffed, hoping no one would see me. Nothing. I smelled nothing. I smelled nothing when I changed the second soiled diaper. Now I was really concerned, but I still felt pretty much okay aside from a nose that was a little prickly.

I mentioned something to my boss who said maybe I should make an appointment for a test. When I got home later, I did a second test. It was negative too. Still uneasy, I called Urgent Care and they agreed to test me again. There was a long line of people waiting inside so I gave them my information and went to wait in my car. When my turn came they called me in, looked me over, asked a few questions, and stuck the swab up my nose. The result? Negative. 

I called my boss and told her the tests had all come back negative. She said she had me covered for Wednesday of I wanted to stay home so I took her up on it. It was a good call. On Wednesday I did not feel so great. Stuffy face and ears, stiff neck, diminished taste, and loss of smell along with a cough that threatened to go deep. Early yesterday afternoon I sent her a text and told her I hated to do it, but had decided to stay home for the rest of the week. 

I felt a bit stuffy this morning but the stiff neck is gone and my face isn't hurting. Maybe the vaccine I got back in August helped, or maybe it's the vitamin regimen along with the Musinex I've been taking. Maybe it isn't the dreaded virus at all and the negative tests were accurate. Either way I'm feeling pretty good today. I still have the cough and a runny nose, but I'm not feeling the level of concern that I had yesterday. I could smell the peanut butter this morning, my deodorant is scented, and my sense of taste has returned. 

I still plan to stay home tomorrow and lay low for the weekend, just to be safe.