The Flu, a Water Leak, and a Birthday Boy

Ladies and gentlemen... We have a 1-year-old!!!

The couple of weeks leading up to the Booger Bear's birthday were rather hectic ones. I ended up having to take Angel (the Booger's mama) to the doctor for what turned out to be a really bad sinus infection. We left with a Z-pack... and another little gift that kept on giving for the next two weeks... Influenza A!!! Fun times!!!

We didn't realize at the time that Angel had the flu. She'd be fine for a couple of hours, and then suddenly turn sheet white and look like she was going to pass out. This went on for about 5 days, but her fever never went over 99.5 so we just thought she was still fighting the sinus infection. It wasn't until the dreaded call from the Booger's daycare on Monday morning and another trip to the urgent care center that we discovered the "gift" that we had received on the previous visit.

It's amazing what a difference one week can make. When Angel I went the previous week, there were four other people in the waiting room. The following Monday when I walked in with the Booger, it was standing room only! Folding chairs had been set up, and everyone was wearing masks! Not exactly a confidence-booster... But I figured by that point, the damage had already been done. Booger had a 102 fever. He'd be the one getting everyone else sick at that point.

After a 2 hour wait, we finally made it in to see the doctor. They took one look at him, did a flu culture (the whole q-tip up the nose thing), and sent him back for a chest x-ray because his breathing didn't sound right. Fortunately, no pneumonia... Unfortunately, he tested positive for Influenza A. They prescribed Tamiflu, but there was none to be found at any of the 5 pharmacies that I tried. The pharmacists and doctors all said that would probably be the case seeing as how everyone and their dogs all have the flu right now. I was told to pump him full of all of the fluids he would take and alternate Motrin and Tylenol and wait it out.

The poor baby was just miserable. He had no energy at all. He just laid on me and quietly whined for days. Angel swore she was going to try to avoid him because she was starting to feel better, but how do you avoid an adorable little baby who just wants hugs because he's sick? By Tuesday, Angel and I were both sick too! Fortunately, Angel wasn't nearly as bad as she had been the previous week, but I had to try to take care of all of us when I felt like total doo-doo myself.

To make matter worse, I woke up Tuesday morning to get the Booger his bottle, and walked right into about an inch of standing water! It was everywhere!!! My bedroom, my closet, the living room, the kitchen... Apparently a pipe going to the hot water heater busted overnight, and I now had a lake in my house. It took apartment maintenance, two plumbers, a carpet guy, and 6 separate trips in a week's time to get the carpet back to normal! Unfortunately, we still have a nice little cut-out hole in the drywall where they had to cut through in order to get to the broken pipe. But at least the baby was so puny he had no desire to get down and play on the floor.

The rest of the week went on about the same way. The Booger's fever would go away for most of the day, but then would spike back up right before bedtime, so daycare the next day wasn't an option. By Thursday, we were BOTH still sick, so I had to go and make the executive decision to cancel his big birthday party that was scheduled for Saturday. :-( I didn't want to, but there was no way I was going to be up to setting up, organizing, and refereeing all of the families the way I felt. We had gotten permission to include Angel's family and Daddy's family as well as my family and a few close friends, so it was going to be interesting to say the least on a good day. Having to referee when I felt like passing out at any given moment wasn't going to happen. And the baby was still having meltdown moments so he wouldn't have been his usual happy self. It made no sense to torture the poor baby (or myself for that matter), so no big party.

By Saturday night, the baby was starting to feel quite a bit better. A couple of people stopped by to bring him presents, and Angel and I decided to throw him a little spur-of-the-moment party on Sunday (his actual birthday) at the house. We had the family come over, decorated with the luau decorations we were going to use at the big party, bought ("bee-yoons") balloons, and even braved up and baked a two-layer, marble cake with chocolate frosting! Angel and I had a good time planning the last-minute party, and the Booger seemed to have a really good time. I felt like warmed-over poo by the end of the day, and the house is STILL a disaster, but I'm really glad we decided to do it. It was his 1st birthday after all! You can't miss your 1st birthday!

Opening a present the night before his birthday. (Well, crawling on top of the box anyway...)

The Booger in his new ball pit that Mommy (Angel) and Mimi (me) bought for him.

After a long day, cake, ice cream, and even a little pizza, the Booger was worn out!



The poor kid sawed logs for two straight hours (and he NEVER snores!). He had a really good time though, so I don't regret it one bit.

(I tried getting a little creative with the pictures. No full faces... Just lots of fun...)

A Day at the Zoo

Angel, Booger Bear, and I were all off on Labor Day, so I had the oh-so-brilliant idea to take the kids to the zoo for the first time. I say, "oh-so-brilliant" rather sarcastically because apparently the entire Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex had the same idea.

Being the super-nice foster mommy that I am, I had gotten permission for the Booger's daddy to meet us at the zoo for the day. So he was able to be there for the baby's first trip to the zoo. My aunt was also in town that week, so she spent the day with us as well.

It was about 2,000 degrees outside seeing as how it was the first week of September in Texas, and all of the animals were hiding or sleeping in the shade. We spent quite a bit of time in the Texas Gulf and spider and bugs buildings because they were the only air conditioned places around. Not a whole lot of fun for Angel who is terrified of fish and me who really, REALLY doesn't care for insects. But at least it was cool in there. :-) .

The Booger's favorite part of the day was trying to bribe ice cream off of complete strangers and going under the misting cooling system in one part of the zoo. He seemed to like the petting zoo, and he was always very excited when he saw the animals toys. The elephants and other larger animals had big balls. (...okay... That didn't sound quite right, but you know what I mean...) Booger's demeaner went from, "Yeah, yeah... It's a big exotic animal..." to "OMG!!! BALLLLL!!!!" He also really enjoyed the poi pond. ...not because of the huge fish... but because there were ducks!!! Heck! If I'd known he'd be that excited about ducks, I would have saved myself $35 and taken him to the park down the street with the duck pond!

We were able to have some fun though. My aunt and I make our own fun, and we got Angel in on some of it. She refused to save my Aunt Linda from the scary alligator though. I had to step up and be the true hero in that frightening situation. My Aunt Linda was so scared... Her life was in danger! And Angel wouldn't save her. :-(

Angel did ride the super-fast runaway mechanical horse however. She's a little speed demon on those things. My aunt said she wasn't afraid until Angel dropped the reigns. Then she clung on for dear life. :-)

After battling the heat, the crowds, and the wild animals for a few hours, we all wised up and decided to go swimming instead. All in all it was actually a pretty good day. Everyone seemed to get along (thank goodness), and the kids had fun even though it was rather miserable out there. At least we got to end the day with a dip in the pool, and we got some good pictures out of it. We were even able to get the first-ever picture of the Booger with both his Mommy and Daddy. That alone made it worth the trip. Pictures with both his mommy and daddy will be a very rare commodity for Booger, so we were happy we could get it.

...And I Said "I Will NEVER..."

Parenthood definitely changes a person. Over the past month and a half since becoming a foster mom, I've found myself doing things that I SWORE I would NEVER do when I had children. There must be some kind of weird pheromones that ooze from children's pores that cause adults to do unspeakably odd things when it comes to their care.

So what have I done that has caused me to cringe you might ask?

• Butt-sniffing - Yes, it took all of one day for me to pick up the fully-clothed baby and sniff his rear end to see if the offending odor was coming from him or the catbox. The first time I saw someone perform the butt-sniffing maneuver, I wanted to cry. I remember my Aunt Amy, who I always thought of as extremely cool and sophisticated, picking up my tiny baby cousin and sniffing her hind end. I was MORTIFIED! "Say it isn't so!!! Please tell me you didn't just do that!!!" After one day with Booger, however, I quickly learned the logic behind the baby bottom sniffing. It's a hassle to take off all of the clothes only to discover a dry diaper. And trust me when I say you DO NOT want to take your finger and pull at the diaper to "take a peek." I learned that the hard way.

• Spit-cleaning - I have always thought the most disgusting thing my mother ever did to me was the whole "licking her fingers and wiping my face" thing. I can still remember how it felt. SO GROSS!!! I swore that if there was only one thing that I would never repeat with my children, the spit-cleaning thing would be it. So imagine my dilemma the other morning when I noticed that the baby had dried something on his face, and I didn't have a wipe or any water handy. I'll admit, I did think long and hard before licking my fingers and rubbing away at his face. "Will he remember the trauma of being spit-cleaned at this early age?" "If I do this, will I scar him for life as I was?" "Will spit-cleaning spread nasty germs that will make him sick?" Ultimately, my need for a clean appearance won out over my need for sanitary conditions, and the baby made it into daycare with a clean face and, hopefully not, overly-scarred ego.

• Self-Banishment - When I was a teenager, I always thought it was cool that my parents would make themselves scarce when I had my friends over. They would go to their bedroom, and my friends and I would have the run of the house. So cool of them, I thought... But then the selfish side of me had me thinking. Well, when I have kids, there's no way I'm going to let them push me out of my own living room! They're just going to have to hang out with me, or find someplace else to chill! That was all fine and dandy until I suddenly found myself with a 16-year-old foster daughter and a houseful of her friends. The first night they were all over at the house, I found myself sitting OUTSIDE on the patio talking on the phone while they were all watching TV (the TV that I had been watching until they showed up) in my living room. And you know what? It worked for me! I had a little peace and quiet, and the kids were all in the next room where I could walk in on them at any moment to see what they were up to. My parents actually knew what they were doing! Imagine that! ;-)

• Playing "Detective" - I was always irritated that my mom seemed to know every little thing I did. My sister was so convinced that Mom was psychic that she would just confess everything before Mom even had a chance to question her. I was a pretty good kid. I never really got into much trouble, but that was because I was convinced that my mother was spying on me. I would never do that to my kids! But now that I have a teen of my own, I know that I was right about her spying on me. I know, because I've had to do it myself. Parents are SO much smarter than we ever gave them credit for! I know when my girl is "embellishing the truth." And it's amazing what kind of information and proof you can get from the Internet and stay-at-home neighbors.

• The Soothing Car Ride - I'll admit it. I've done it a few times already even though I swore I'd never resort to it. Crying, fussy, sleepy baby absolutely refusing to go to sleep... He's done everything he can think of to keep himself awake. He talks, he sings, he slaps his head, he "jumps" in my arms, he blows spit bubbles, he plays with my glasses, he picks my nose... ANYTHING he can think of to stay awake. After about 45 minutes of this, I'll admit Mimi (that's me) has resorted to loading Booger in the car and driving on the bumpiest road I can find. Mimi is a smart woman. He's usually out before I leave the parking lot. While I don't want to make it a habit, I will admit the occasional soothing car ride works miracles. :-)

• To Bathe, or NOT to Bathe - Yeah... I'll admit it. There have been a few days where I have let personal hygiene slide for a few extra minutes of sleep. I'm not ashamed of it either. Sleep is a good thing. I never really thought that I would forgo cleanliness for beauty sleep (especially seeing as how "beauty sleep" doesn't really work if you stink), but when you go from eight hours of sleep a night and two-hour naps on the weekends to six hours of sleep and NO naps, you'll do just about anything for a few extra minutes of rest. With a baby and a 16-year-old in the house, it seems that I am always awake for one reason or another! In my defense, I always smell myself first to make certain I'm not too rancid before deciding to forget about a full-fledged shower and shampoo. And I promise, it's not a regular occurrence. For the most part, I'm clean. :-)

Yep... I've found myself doing lots of "I would NEVER's" over the past couple of months. I suppose it's all good though. I never thought that I would have a baby and teenager at the same time, but it's turning out to be the best thing I've ever done. So what if I'm a butt-sniffing, spit-cleaning, car ride-soothing, smelly, self-banished detective!?! These kids are worth it!!! :-)

"Farkly Frustrated"

Hi, my name is Mimi... And I am addicted to Farkle.


What began as an innocent attempt to relive my teen years through the electronic version of one of my favorite dice games quickly developed into massively emotional highs and lows known in the Farkle World as episodes of "Farkle Fever," "Farkle Frenzy," and "Farkle Frustration."

In the past couple of weeks since rediscovering the game (thanks alot, Lori!), I have spent God only knows how many hours clicking away at the mouse and dreaming of 1's and 5's. "Do I roll?" "Do I stay?" "Do I risk farkling and losing all of my points?" OH!!! THE PRESSURE!!! So what if it's after midnight and the baby will be waking up at 5:30 for a diaper change and his morning bottle? "MUST BEAT HIGH SCORE!!!" "MUST BE #1 IN THE RANKINGS!!!"

I have no idea how many times I have growled at the stupid computer for "Farkling" me when I was rolling all six dice. "Farkle Frustration" does strange things to people. I have found myself muttering bad words under my breath and making faces at the screen. I get mad and think that by playing another game, I'll teach the computer a lesson. I refuse to accept that the computer doesn't care one bit whether or not I'm mad at it.

I tell myself I won't stop until I have beaten my high score. Unfortunately, I had one insanely good game, and my high score is so high that I don't think I'll EVER be able to beat it! But does that stop me? OF COURSE NOT!!! Nope... I continue to sit at the computer night after night, clicking away at the mouse "rolling" the dice, trying to get those 1's and 5's.

Hi, my name is Tammy... And I am addicted to Farkle.

To Be 16 Again...

Wow! I didn't realize that it had been so long since I'd last posted! Life has definitely been crazy now that I am the foster mom of an 8-month-old (whose shortened nickname of "Booger Bear" appears to have stayed with him :-) and his 16-year-old bio mom (who I will refer to as "Angel" in my blog). It's going really well though, and I couldn't be happier!

Angel's been with me a little over a week, and it seems to be working out well. It turns out that she and I have quite a lot of common interests (ex. photography, arts and crafts, same taste in music for the most part, same taste in foods, etc. We even like the same shampoo!). I coached gymnastics for several years, and she was into competitive gymnastics and cheering before she got pregnant. The first night she was home, we sat and talked for a couple of hours. A friend of hers ended up calling me because she was worried about Angel not checking in with her. Angel got on the phone and apologized for not calling. She said that she was "having so much fun that she forgot." :-)

Angel and I have a good routine going so far as far as caring for Booger and the house. The dynamic between Booger and Angel is more of "big sister, baby brother" so it has made it easy for me to take on the role of Mama. The only problem is that he already knows Angel as "Mama" or "Mommy," so I'm calling myself "Mimi." Angel has taken on quite a bit of the household chores (including the cooking!), so it works out really well for both of us. She gets overwhelmed by caring for Booger, and I hate doing housework, so it evens out. :-)

I have to admit, I had forgotten what it was like to be 16. In the past week, I have met a boy who Angel told me was "maybe my boyfriend." In five days the conversation went from, "I'm not sure if he's my boyfriend or not." "He's my boyfriend." "My boyfriend is smothering me!" "I'm avoiding my boyfriend." ...and finally, "I broke up with my boyfriend." Too funny! I think my sister and I have BOTH had that same conversation with our mom at that age too. :-)

I also got Angel her own cell phone last week. THANK GOODNESS we made a deal regarding unlimited texting! I told her that I was going to give her an allowance for all of the help that she does around the house, and she asked if I could deduct the $30 a month that it would cost for unlimited texting on her cell phone. No problem! And thank goodness I agreed!!! Because in the past six days since she got her phone, she has sent and received nearly 2300 messages!!! (Although she never would have done that if she didn't have unlimited messaging. She was really good about it when I let her have my cell phone during the day before hers came. She's also great about keeping an eye on her cellular minutes because I didn't get a big calling plan for that.) 2300 messages in six days!!! That's nuts!!! I told her not to come whining when she gets carpal tunal. I know she hates doctors, but that will be her own fault. :-)

So far, things are going really well with my new little family. Everyone continue to keep us in your prayers!