The Zoe and Silas Show

8/30/13: After breakfast today S&Z decided to pretend that Grandma's bed was an airplane. Next thing I knew they had gathered up a bunch of animals and were fake sleeping. By the looks of it, they must have been in first class :) Derek had to work this afternoon, so we all went to the Y this morning. It was beautiful outside so I took the kids on a hike at the Arboretum after nap. Today they realized that most of the trees in the Arboretum have name placards on them, so they made me stop at nearly every tree on the Conifer Path to answer the question "what kind is it?". I pointed out that one of the trees was native to Japan and China, and I commented on how different the bark was compared to indigenous North American trees.  This meant we had to touch every single tree thereafter. Best classroom, right? I hope everyone has a fun, inquisitive, and safe Labor Day weekend!

8/29/13: 1, 2, cha-cha-cha!

8/28/13: Who needs Sesame Street when Washington Street is being re-paved?!

8/27/13: My adorable baby showing me two adorable babies.

8/26/13: I'm sorry, did I say that we were back to normal ? I take it back, and ask the universe for forgiveness. Because apparently this is what Erythema Multiforme looks like.  Yup, Silas is having an allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics he's been on since the beginning of last week. Itchy, red, and spreading. Awesome.  Needless to say, all meds are all done now. We will need to see an allergist in a few weeks to figure out what in the heck he's allergic to. The poor kid has been through the ringer for 9 days now, although he still managed to play all day today. He was still riding his bike in loops around the house before shower time tonight (although bedtime was a nightmare). Thankfully, he's sleeping peacefully now after a dose of children's Benadryl...

I welcomed a "normal" day today like a breath of fresh air. We went to the Y this morning, and then Derek headed out to do food shopping and I took the kids to Hale for a picnic lunch. After lunch S&Z tried to catch fish with their nets. It was pretty funny to watch them scare all the little sunfish away! Just a relaxing, mellow summer Sunday. I'll take it! ***** Cook's Notes : Tonight for dinner I made Chicken Tostadas with Summer Vegetables . I used corn tortillas instead of flour, and elevated the dish by topping them with chopped arugula and crumbled feta cheese before baking. They were a hit with all of us, and I'm already thinking of ways to make these a seasonal favorite (roasted veg in the fall, etc.). A recipe I forgot to post last night in my catch-up notes was for the White Refried Beans that we made on Friday night along with chicken tacos. We slathered the tortillas with the beans before loading up the taco wi...

After an uninspiring food week (except for some  Greek Potatoes , and an improv Curried Quinoa with Roasted Summer Vegetables that was inspired by this recipe ), I am happy to get back on track with cooking this weekend! I talked with my sister yesterday, and she recommended perusing Pinterest boards of my favorite food magazines and bloggers to look for ideas. I did just that and came up with a fun list of stuff to try for this week. A visit to our awesome Farmer's Market always helps me prime the creative food pump as well... After the Farmer's Market we made summer salads for Mommy and Daddy Bears, And for Baby Bears. It blows my mind that S&Z will eat salads this year. Both of them even wanted some of my hardboiled egg! For dinner tonight I made Red Lentil Coconut Soup . It had a dal-like consistency so I was glad that I had also cooked up some rice. I think I like this recipe better than the Lal Dal that I typically make. It was pretty spicy ...

8/24/13: After six VERY long days at home, aside from 1 trip to the ER and 3 trips to the clinic (1 for me and 2 for Silas), we were very happy to rejoin the land of the living today! We spent the morning at the Farmer's Market, and I took the kids to the Arboretum after nap. It was one of those perfect, 75-something degree summer days and I didn't want to miss a second of it. I'm looking forward to continuing on the path to normalcy over the next few days... Whatever that is.

8/23/13: By the time we woke up on Friday morning morning, major road work had started in front of our house. S&Z spent most of the morning watching all the trucks. I knew that Silas needed to be seen again before the weekend, so I called as soon as the clinic opened and we got an appointment with Dr. R. for 11:15. Derek's mom was scheduled for a procedure + infusion at Dana Farber, so he headed out to check in with his parents and I took the kids to Silas' appointment. We were there for over 1.5 hours and Dr. R. was with us almost the entire time. The only time she wasn't in the room was when she called to consult with two different specialists at Boston Children's Hospital, and consulted with another pediatrician who she had come in to see us for a 2nd opinion. It was a LONG time for the 3 of us to be stuck in a clinic room! At the end of the appointment, after going round and round about the persistent lymphangitis mark ...

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....

Well, we almost made it four years without a trip to the ER. That lucky streak ended when we had to take Silas to Boston Children's Hospital today. He woke up yesterday morning with some serious redness and irritation on the bottom half of his face. By the late afternoon his face was swollen and blisters were starting to form. This morning he was completely lethargic and wouldn't get out of bed. We got him to eat a little fruit and drink some water while Derek talked to the on-call pediatrician. It was very sad to watch Silas watching Zoe play in the backyard :( He was so miserable and oozy. After talking to the pediatrician for the second time, Derek and Silas headed over to the ER while I tried to find someone to watch Zoe. Thankfully Julia was at home cooking, so I dropped Zoe off at her house and headed to BCH.  Silas was such a trooper. Both ER attendings came in to assess him independently. They agreed that he has some kind of contact dermatitis, which ...

The Boston EMS union, BPPA, organized another picketing event aimed at the Boston Public Health Commission on Saturday. All union members and their families were encouraged to attend to show their support. Below is a recent post about the protest from the BPPA-EMS Division Facebook page: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Union workers protest Health Commission Beach Party.  BPHC throws itself a party following budget cuts and layoffs. On Saturday August 14, 2013 the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) is sponsoring a beach party and barbeque on Long Island. This despite the fact that just six weeks ago the BPHC implemented massive budget cuts and layoffs within critical programs and servi ces that it provides to the residents of the City of Boston, including its Emergency Medical Services due to a “lack of funding.” The memberships of the EMS Division of the Boston Police Patrolmans Association (BPPA EMS), American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and Salar...