June 2011 – Page 3 – Jocelyn Rau

June 15, 2011February 6, 2012

Fire burning

Unfortunately this one wasn’t on the dance floor, it was on D’s forehead.

Daycare called me at work yesterday around 1:00 saying she had a fever of 102.5, so I had to go pick her up (they can’t be there with a fever of 101+). I was debating calling her doctor’s office yesterday anyway to try to get her in, because she had begun acting like her ears were really bothering her again, coughing, the phlegm in her throat and snot rivers out of her nose were back, and she has had a couple bad nights going to bed recently, all of which were symptoms present with her first ear infection.

We’re going on vacation for a week in two and a half weeks, so if it was an ear infection coming back and we had to get her on another round of antibiotics, I wanted to make sure we gave it plenty of time to work its magic before we leave.

D’s doctor is off on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the summer, and there was actually only 1 pediatrician of the 4 in their office in yesterday, but fortunately she had a 2:00 appointment open to get us in. Sure enough, there was fluid in both ears again. Fortunately her chest sounded clear, though, so that’s good.

I was just worried that whatever is plaguing her now may be a little more serious this time around since she’s never had a fever, let alone one that high. So the doctor put her on a stronger antibiotic for this one, since the amoxicillin doesn’t seem to kick these things for good.

Her ears weren’t raging with infections this time, but since there was some fluid in both this was more preventative than anything, especially with the fever. And since we haven’t been in to see her doctor since her last appointment when the second infection was diagnosed, we can’t be sure that it actually ever totally cleared up. Great fun.

So when R got home from work and a quick run, he took over cradling our sick little girl so I could get a run in too. It was obvious how awful she felt – not only was her face all red from the fever, but her eyes just looked so sad and sick, and she was very cuddly, burrowing right into your shoulder or chest to sleep as much as she could.

The prescription wasn’t ready until last evening, and her fever continued to climb, reaching 103.4 at the highest – yikes! Fortunately R gave her a little bit of baby ibuprofen while I was gone, which brought it back down to about 100. It was a struggle to get the medicine in her once I got it, but we managed to control the dragon long enough to administer the full dose, and she was in bed about half an hour later.

She woke up once during the night and was a complete fireball – I could feel the heat through her jammies and every touch on my face from her little fingers was like a flame.

When was this thing going to break? She can’t stay that hot for so long, her brain is frying! Then I started worrying that her breathing sounded more rapid than usual, too. I was tempted to look online for some clues but knew I’d just find signs that she all of a sudden had some rare, incurable virus, and would spend the rest of the night worrying myself sick. Thank god the fever was gone this morning, though, back down to 99.

This is her first real illness, and the first time we’ve ever had to go get her out of daycare. I felt so horrible when I got that call at work, and I just wanted to run to her and make everything better. Hopefully the medicine will be able to do the rest of the job that Mommy’s hugs and love can’t.

P1070691 — Her rosy cheeks - they felt as hot as they looked 🙁

(run stats from last night = ran 3.58 miles in 33:57, 9:29 pace. a little slower, but i knew it would be. this is a “longer” route that i haven’t run since before i was pregnant, so i wanted to take it easy to make sure i could still do it without walking. plus the turnaround point is a huge hill down to the lakefront with a run back up stairs taken 2 at a time – that hurts.)

June 14, 2011January 27, 2012

Things they don’t tell you about pregnancy – #2

I guess I should clarify and say that these posts are more things I didn’t know about pregnancy, not things that no one before me has ever known about it. And I’m sure all of them can actually be found in the multitude of books out there somewhere and you may even know about or have experienced them all yourself, but these are mainly the things that struck me as weird or unusual or just something I never expected to happen. So take them all for what they’re worth, if you will.

But moving right along, this one can be called “Smell-A-Vision”.

I had heard that some women get a ridiculously keen sense of smell when they get pregnant, but that’s not exactly what happened to me. It’s more like my smells got all fucked up. There really just is no better way to put it – my favorite scents all of a sudden made my stomach turn, just like that.

In about week my sixth week of pregnancy I came down with a cold that I then couldn’t shake for approximately the next 6-8 weeks. It was awful. I don’t consider it morning sickness because it wasn’t any of those typical symptoms, it was just a stupid winter cold that then morphed into a hacking, sleep-robbing cough. It was miserable. And of course, being newly pregnant, I couldn’t take any medicine that actually worked to get rid of it. The non-drowsy, pregnancy-friendly version of cough medicine? Worthless.

But it was during this time that my nose went haywire. Every single fragrance in the house became my enemy. My favorite perfumes and candles triggered my gag reflex. I’m not kidding, I had to get rid of each and every bottle of lotion, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, etc., and start completely over with the most unscented ones I could find. This made me especially mad because I had just stocked up on all environmentally-friendly products, and I had to junk them all or give them away. And that shit is expensive! Then even the unscented scent started to make me ill. Even if I smelled someone else using one of those products I would get quasi-nauseous.

And just the thought of the smell of certain foods was enough to make me want to puke, too. Right before I got sick (and before anyone besides me and R knew I was pregnant) we had been down at a holiday cocktail party at my mom’s house, and she sent home bags and bags full of leftover food – mini-egg rolls, meatballs, stuffed mushroom caps, the like, and to this day I still have a hard time eating some of those things because of the memory of that illness and how smelling them made me feel then. Super weird, I know.

There was one episode in particular that about made me die – about the same time as that cocktail party, R had gotten a bag full of various types of meat from a butcher that was going out of business in our area and he stuck the whole thing in the refrigerator. So then each time you opened the fridge this vicious combination of meat and leftover party food wafted out, and I swear to you I could be all the way in our living room and almost pass out from that noxious odor. Of course he thought I was crazy – who doesn’t like the smell of all different types of cured meat marinating together in a bag? Barf!

I have now finally gotten pretty much back to normal smell-wise, but it seriously has taken me almost this long. I just recently started wearing perfume again, finding one I used to wear that I can tolerate and actually like. And there are still some of those body products that I can’t use – there’s one type of lotion in particular that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to use again, since the smell of it still makes me batty. Even smelling particular scents in my mom’s house that are the same as when we were down there that holiday season takes me back to that time and are not friendly to my head.

Oh man, I need to go take a deep breath of fresh air after reliving my smell-a-vision horrors.

June 13, 2011December 19, 2011

I think his tractor’s sexy

Saturday night was the Kenny Chesney concert up at Lambeau Field, and, as expected, it was awesome! We dropped D off at one of R’s cousin’s house in Sheboygan on the way and arrived at our tailgating destination around 1pm. The weather left much to be desired, unfortunately, with clouds and a chilly breeze. At least we didn’t get rained on, though, and R let me wear his sweatshirt before we went in as a second layer to keep warm.

We had a blast. It was just the 2 of us partying together the whole time, seeing how much hell we could raise. Just like the old days. 😉 Coincidentally enough, we parked in the same lot we’ve parked in the last 2 times we were at Lambeau for Packers games or celebrations, so we knew it was an easy walk to the stadium. Plus we were right next to a port-a-john, a HUGE bonus, and we were in the very front row and able to drive right out afterward instead of getting mired in the concert traffic. Our tickets were down on the field, and we got into the show toward the end of Billy Currington’s act. We made our way up to almost the very front, saw all of Zac Brown, all of Kenny, and then obviously the group jam at the end of the night. Mike McCarthy made a special appearance at one point and brought the Lombardi Trophy out on stage, and of course the place erupted in cheers. Another Packer also joined Kenny to sing a few lines, but neither of us could really tell who he was; plus he definitely did not have a singing voice.

The crowd was amped, the stage was awesome, the music was fantastic, and my company couldn’t have been better. But what I might always remember as the best part of the night came on our drive back to Sheboygan to get D. All of a sudden we drove through a patch of “fresh country air” and I remarked how it smelled like rotten egg farts (yes, very mature, i know). In response, R said, and I am not making one word of this up, “Oh good. At first I thought it was my finger.” WHAT?!?! What did you just say?? You thought your finger smelled like rotten egg farts?? What is wrong with you? I laughed so hard my throat hurt and my voice went raw. I could not believe that was actually a train of thought in his head, no matter how much Roaring Dan rum he had consumed that afternoon. I asked him to explain where in god’s name he came up with the notion that his finger may have smelled like a bout of sulfuric flatulence, and he said, “I don’t know, maybe I ran it around the edge of the garbage can or something before we left.” Again – WHAT?! You may or may not have had your hand in a garbage can and now it may or may not smell like a fart?? And what are you doing over there, giving yourself a finger mustache? Wow. I thought I was going to hyperventilate laughing. Of course he didn’t appreciate my making the most fun of him that I think I have in all 10+ years I’ve known the guy, but he did get a good chuckle out of it too. I mean come on, who can possibly think their finger *might* smell like a rotten egg fart but not really be sure, and not think that’s both idiotic and completely hilarious at the same time?

Ah yes, good times. This article gives a better review of the set list than I could recount for you. I may or may not have been a little foggy due to Shandy and Corona consumption. And here are some pictures from the day and night, the part you’ve all been waiting for.

KC5 — Giant "Goin' Coastal Tour" bus outside Lambeau

KC8 — Uh-oh, someone's had some adult beverages...

KC9 — Zac Brown rockin' the green and gold beanie, and the crowd

KC12 — Kenny & Uncle Kracker jammin' during the encore

June 10, 2011June 10, 2011

Jelly much?

I dare you not to turn green with exploding envy like the Incredible Hulk from this post, but look what R made from scratch for dinner last night:

Yep, that's his homemade bacon on there, too

AND…

We’re going to the Kenny Chesney concert at Lambeau Field tomorrow. Wahoo!! Opening acts include Uncle Kracker, Billy Currington (who??), and Zac Brown Band. The first 2 I couldn’t really care less about, but I love me some ZBB. Then they’re all supposedly going to jam together at the end of the night. Sweetness! R’s making kabobs (steak and chicken) and BLT pasta salad for our tailgating escapades beforehand, and it looks like the weather *should* cooperate.

And with that, I anoint you sufficiently JELLY! (as in short for jealous, get it)

Have a great weekend!

June 10, 2011

FF

My head is clear from the brain drain. Ahh… Well mostly, anyway. I talked to both R and my boss about the various things that have been making me nuts, and I feel a lot better. I know you’re all very relieved to hear that.

TGIF! For the FF this week I have the long-awaited pictures from our brewery tour getaway this past weekend. There are a bunch of shots here, but it’s only a fraction of the entire album. If you’d like to see the whole thing just leave me a comment and I’ll send you the link.

NG2 — Military Ridge State Trail in Mt. Horeb

NG3 — There are lots of trolls in Mt. Horeb

NG4 — New Glarus Brewery - it's beautiful!

NG6 — Look at my crinkly face! I love rocks!

NG8 — Playing in the grass at New Glarus

NG9 — Mommy & D in the beer museum at Potosi Brewery

NG10 — Getting ready for some grub at Potosi

NG11 — Mommy & D in the Potosi beer garden - more crinkles

NG13 — Cool classic cars in downtown Galena

NG14 — My view from the front seat. These things often smell like Cheerios.

NG17 — Daddy & D enjoying evening sun on Trynena's patio

June 9, 2011June 9, 2011

Validation

Both good and bad, I guess.

Last night I went to a Jockey Person2Person clothing party at one of my good friend’s houses, and it was awesome. I was completely unfamiliar with that line of Jockey, but the clothes are fantastic. High quality, beyond comfortable, stylish and flattering for a woman’s body, and washable/dryable without shrinking or pilling – excellent! I ordered a pair of black modal active bootcut pants and I can’t wait until they arrive. I could seriously live in those things if it was socially acceptable to never change your pants. And what could be more fun than sharing a couple bottles of wine with girlfriends while trying on a bunch of new clothes? Yeah that’s right – nothing.

(side note – if you see anything you like in the catalog in that link above, or if you’d be interested in either hosting one of those parties or becoming a rep yourself, let me know. i’ve got the hookup)

So anyway, as we were tossing around shirts, workout tanks, dresses, and other various articles of Jockey clothing, of course the conversation turned to boobs. Why wouldn’t it in a house full of topless women? Most of us there have swum together for years, so we’ve all seen each other in more stages of undress than just bared to our bras. One girl had just had hers beautifully lifted after having her babies, and can I just say they looked spectacular!! I was of course envious of her gorgeous rack, and was lamenting the current deflated state of my own micro-rack and the fact that none of my bras fit properly anymore. Then one of the other girls said, “Thank you! That’s exactly how I felt!” Sweet – I’m not crazy or the only one who thinks her post-baby boobs have turned into little tiny niddlers! (name the movie that has that description of boobs in it and i’ll give you a cookie) The universe hasn’t singled me out with this punishment, it does happen to others! We both said how now we have to have all these different sections of bras in our collection – pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, nursing, then post-nursing. Bleh. I may as well just be wearing a training bra at this point. Again – who’s got suggestions for comfy, properly-fitting bras out there?

On the flip side, here’s where the bad validation came into play. Well not bad bad like I’m now thinking harmful thoughts or anything, but it totally cemented my notion that these things really have shrunk. This past weekend as I was vomiting out everything that’s been tumbling around in my head to R, of course I landed on how I hate the current state of affairs on my chest. I’m like seriously, there wasn’t much there to start with, but now what little I had has even disappeared in recent days. He said oh yeah right, and I’m like no, really, feel. So he did, and you know what he said? “Well, maybe they are a little smaller.” See! See?! I told you. I told him I need a boob job now when we’re done having kids and he just laughed and said don’t be silly, maybe they’ll come back. What?! Why would they just decide to come back once more tiny mouths have sucked the life out of them? I might have to get the number of my friend’s doctor who did her work, see if she also specializes in miniature versions.

I’ve heard so many women say that their boobs just kept getting bigger and bigger with each successive child they had, and I was so hoping that would be the case for me too. Ha! Yeah right, SM, you should’ve known better. That’s not how your luck works.

Boobs – you didn’t think I could talk about them so much, did you?

June 8, 2011December 6, 2011

Wordless Wednesday – Wave at the Bus

This is hilarious. What better way to totally embarrass your teenage son than by waving good-bye to him as he gets on the bus for school each morning – in costume!

If you’d like to see each costume more closely or read about the fam, check out their blog.