The Zoe and Silas Show

4/8/14: I was struck by a death bug on Monday night and was out flat for most of the day on Tuesday.

1/27/14: Zoe was home sick from school today, but she is ready for her VIP week to start on Wednesday! Silas is the VIP the week of Valentine's Day and we're already working on his board!

1/26/14: We had a pj day today, as Zoe is still sick and has now developed a weird rash that we're thinking is Fifth Disease . Mr. No Napper didn't, of course, nap- so he worked on the letters for his VIP poster board while Zoe slept.

1/25/14: Silas spent most of Saturday afternoon "doing research" at my desk. I think he was inspired by all of the hard-working students he saw in lab on Friday! Zoe spiked a crazy high fever (105+!) after nap. We had a sitter lined up for Saturday night so that we could go out to dinner and see some live music. We went back and forth about whether to cancel, and we ended up deciding to keep our plans after we got the fever down with a bath and some ibuprofen. She had no other signs of illness and was perfectly happy to have Sarah babysit - and we were so happy to be able to go out! After dinner we saw a cover band show - I danced and danced, even logging almost 1000 steps between midnight (when the Fitbit step counter resets) and 12:15 when we headed home.

1/11/14: Zoe had a really rough day yesterday with Silas getting so much attention. I think she also feels scared when he is sick. Our day yesterday started with Silas vomiting into my hands at the breakfast table and Zoe totally flipped out; things just went downhill when we got home from the x-rays. Given the circumstances we figured it would be best to divide and conquer today. Silas slept in until 9:00 this morning and was thankfully feeling MUCH better after some good rest. Derek and Silas hunkered down for the day at home, and Zoe and I headed out for lunch and shopping. After a quick morning workout we went to Joe's for lunch. After lunch I told Zoe that we were going to Legacy Place to do some shopping.  Z: What's Legacy Place? Me: That outdoor shopping mall we go to sometimes. Z: What's a mall? Me: [silent celebration that we must be doing something right!] After shopping we stopped at the salon for a much-needed haircut. We left t...

1/10/14: Silas spiked a fever on Thursday night before bed, and he was a complete wreck on Friday morning. I dropped Zoe off at school and got Silas an appointment to see Dr. R. His ears and throat were clear but he had a lot of creaks and pops in his lungs. Dr. R. diagnosed him with pneumonia, prescribed albuterol and an antibiotic, and sent us over to Children's Hospital to get an x-ray. Silas really wanted to see a picture of his lungs, and the tech was nice enough to show him one when we were done. We headed to the cafeteria for an ice cream sandwich while we waited to hear back from Dr. R. The x-ray confirmed pneumonia in the middle lobe of his right lung. His orders are to take it easy, take the meds, see Dr. R. again next week, and have a repeat x-ray in 3 weeks to confirm that everything has cleared up. It was a very long day for both of us and he was in rough shape when we got home. Thankfully we were able to get a scary high fever down with a...

1/8/14: Silas made it to school on Wednesday morning, while Zoe went to see the pediatrician. She woke me up twice in the middle of the night complaining that her ear hurt, so it was pretty clear that she had an ear infection. She was prescribed antibiotics at the clinic visit and she has been doing much since starting the meds. Tammy babysat on Wednesday afternoon. When I got home at 6:00 she reported that despite continued attempts she could not wake Silas up from his nap. I raced to his bedroom in a panic where I found him in a deep sleep. I was able to rouse him pretty quickly, and within 10 minutes he said he was starving and wanted to eat. After eating a big bowl of rice and beans, a large pear, and a piece of swiss cheese I concluded that he must be having a growth spurt. Little did I know that the exhaustion was pneumonia waiting in the wings.

1/6/14: Both kids had to stay home today due to fevers yesterday/last night. Julia is still away for the holidays and Derek was off work so S&Z had another Daddy Day .

1/5/14: Silas seems to have croup that turned into bronchitis because now he's got a fever. I am having total flashblacks to last January when they collectively missed over 3 weeks of school. But bless Silas' heart, he really perks up with a little ibuprofen. An apple a day... a little too late. Auntie Rachel and Uncle Keith got the kids walkie talkies for Christmas. Best twin gift ever!!! At the bedtime temp check Zoe registered 100.2 and Silas 100.5. You have never seen a child SO HAPPY to have a fever. She gleefully got medicine along with Silas, and then made a BIG production when we got in the bedroom about how she shouldn't have chosen footed pajamas and she needed to change (we have a "no footed pajamas when you have a fever" rule). Apparently no school for either of them tomorrow... This is where our crappy work schedules really pay off - I've covered all weekend while Derek worked and now he'll pick up tomorrow when my work week s...

1/3/13: Mr. Sickie... And Ms. Cranky, which is a direct result of her sick brother getting more than his usual share of 1/8 to 1/4 of the total parental attention ;) We were snowed in for the day, and Derek had to work so I made us a big Indian feast for dinner. I combined two recipes that used cauliflower and potatoes - one from America's Test Kitchen  and one from Smitten Kitchen . It was a snow day curry extravaganza! Mr. Sickie LOVED it, and (of course) Ms. Cranky didn't think it was so wonderful :$ It was at dinner that I realized that Silas totally has Zoe figured out. I don't know why this surprised me, but the following conversation cracked me up! S: (innocently comments) it's a little bit spicy. Z: I DON'T LIKE SPICY THINGS (of course she hasn't taken a single bite at this point of the meal). S: Zoe, I was wrong, it's not spicy. Momma, what did you do with all of the spices we toasted? Me: Do you mean the SEASONINGS we toasted? Th...

8/22/13: Day 5 of our quarantine. Thank goodness we have a backyard they can play in! Silas' face continues to slowly heal, but we're concerned that there hasn't been much improvement with the lymphangitis, even after 48+ hours on 2 different kinds of antibiotics. The spot on my neck is also untouched, and even a little bigger than yesterday. We're going to see Dr. R. again tomorrow before the weekend.  Zoe fluctuates between constant attention-seeking and complete self-sufficiency. Silas has been very cranky when he wakes up in the morning, and today Zoe knew I had my hands full. Unbeknownst to me she went in their room shortly after I got them up and she picked out her clothes for the day. A few minutes later she appeared in the kitchen fully dressed in the above outfit with a VERY big smile on her face. I'm so glad that Julia got a picture of her wearing this outfit! Meanwhile, we're disinfecting like mad. I basically walk around with Clorox...

Today's update (although the title says it all)- The (only piece of) good news is that Derek and Zoe are still all clear. The spot on my neck a little worse overnight, no signs of improvement today. The tracking rash on Silas' arm, the primary sign of lymphangitis, is so far untouched by antibiotics. New blisters forming on his hand and legs, hence his hand is wrapped up like a wounded soldier in WWI. Let me tell you, this is not an e-mail response that wanted to receive tonight after sending Dr. R. today's update. FML. ****** Alissa, yes, keep using both oral antibiotics + ointment. Trimethoprim etc (Bactrim) for the face (likely staph impetigo). Cephalexin (Keflex) for the arm and blistering elsewhere (proven strep lymphangiitis). Triple Abx ointment for the arm (strep), Mupirocin for the face (staph) just in case. Any other contacts with infection should use triple antibiotic ointment and Penicillin or Keflex (if spreading). Any of you could catch str...

As suspected , I've also got impetigo. Mine is mild enough and localized to just a couple of spots so no oral antibiotics for me, just topical. Silas, on the other hand, is now on 2 oral antibiotics + topical. He had a new blister form on the palm of his hand today. We're waiting to hear back on the results of the culture that was taken yesterday to find out whether it's staph or strep-based; in the meantime Dr. R. has him on both types of antibiotics in order to keep the bacterial eviction going. He's feeling much better, though, and he continues to be my little optimist. Whenever I ask him how he feels, he replies "good!". When we put on cream or take medicine, he says "it's getting better!". When he asked why they had to stay home again today, I explained that we don't want him to get anyone else sick. He replied "ok!" with a smile. Love that kid. Both Derek and I, on the other hand, are pretty aggravated with everything so I...

Derek took Silas in to see the pediatrician this morning. He was diagnosed with impetigo (highly contagious) and a related lymphangitis. Either he was misdiagnosed by two doctors in the ER yesterday as having contact dermatitis, or the dermatitis got infected. Dr. R.  cultured one of the blisters on his arm to see if staph is the underlying cause of the impetigo.  Both Derek and Zoe are symptom-free, but I had to leave work midday because I have a lesion forming on my neck. I have an appointment with my PCP tomorrow, although I'm 99% sure that I've picked up the same bleeping bacteria. Thankfully the house was cleaned today, and we're washing hands and replacing linens like crazy. Silas was in rough shape this morning, but he was ready to play after quiet time (he didn't actually nap today). We set them up in the backyard with the makings for a car wash.  Meanwhile, I worked on the back deck and Derek took pictures of a spider on the windowsill....

Words cannot express the unthinkable. I cannot explain it to them Thankful I don't have to... Not yet. I want to protect them forever. There will be more  unexplainable  inexplicable horrors in the world. Thankful not for them, not today. The face of innocence. The faces of the innocent.

1/30/13: S&Z have been playing with their lacing boards a lot lately. They call it their "knitting", and they hand us pieces of string saying it's a scarf they made. Considering how much I've been knitting lately, I guess it's not surprising! As of last night Derek is officially sick now as well, although he still held down the fort solo this morning so that I could go back to work. We had a pretty quiet evening after I got home, mostly spent working on another puzzle that Vanessa and the boys gave the kids for Christmas. It's looking like Silas can probably go to school tomorrow, but Zoe will be home another day. She has gone to school 1 day in the last 3 weeks. I'm sure Silas will be happy to go back after missing 2 entire weeks!

1/28/13: Another day, another virus. Zoe was seen by Dr. R. today. She had to wear this mask for 45 minutes while we waited in a waiting room now devoid of all toys and books (probably due to crazy germs). Her ears are clear and it looks like she somehow got a different strain of the flu than the one she had 2-1/2 weeks ago. How is that even possible, in a human who WAS VACCINATED in October??!! Apparently I was immune to the first strain but not to this one. Ugh. Aside from low-grade fevers, being extra needy, mom home sick, more missed days of school, and hacking coughs, things are pretty normal around here. Inspired by a picture posted on FB, we did some color mixing tonight when Julia left. I found this simple color wheel online , and we got to mixing. Zoe started with yellow + red = orange and Silas worked on red + blue = purple.  Intro to color mixing wouldn't be complete without yellow + blue = green.   It was a s uper fun and simple acti...

1/27/13: Antibiotics are working on bringing our smiley little boy back.  I need to get me some of those. Derek had to call in sick again today so he and his sous chef made stromboli for dinner.

1/27/13: Once Silas puts his hands behind his head we joke that he has assumed the sleep position. He's been napping very well recently because he is still sick sick sick. I took him to the pediatrician on Saturday morning because we were going on 8 days of a fever + he had also developed a hacking, croup-y sounding cough. He has a double ear infection courtesy of haemophilus influenzae . This is all after his flu resolved on its own, probably around day 5. Hopefully the z-pack will work some magic! Zoe has what was thought to be viral conjunctivitis. When I mentioned this to Dr. R she said that with the presence of h. influenza in her environment that we're probably dealing with a bacterial infection. She gave us a prescription for eye drops which need to be given 3x/day, 2 drops in each eye. Those of you who know and love Zoe can imagine how fun that has been! Thankfully we were both home on Sat. because we had to pin her down for the first treatment. She...

1/25/13: Building an ice cream drive-thru window. "What'cho want today, Mommy?" Notice their matching pajamas, which are hand-me-downs from Eugenia's girls. We've had them in the rotation for a long time now. Last night was the first time, however, that Zoe intentionally selected the same pj's as Silas and kept saying "we match, we match!".  Today was the most Silas has played since last weekend. Fingers crossed that he is on the upswing!