Impetigo

Seventy-six dollars for a conultation with the pediactrician, thirty-five dollars for an antibiotic.  No shinles, the verdict is impetigo.  That, as far as I know, does not make you go blind.

As for the jaunty rendition of “Thomas and his Friends!” that Ryan sang for the doctor, well, he should be paying us.

Less Than 3 Days To Go

Until our new health insurance kicks in, that is.  Ed started a new job December 1st, so we had to endure the obligatory 30 day waiting period for new coverage.

And we almost made it. 

The last time we were without coverage for a job change Ryan was only 5 months old.   He ended up being hospitalized for 3 days with brochiolitis.  Hospitalization without medical coverage is very, very expensive, as you could probably guess, but when left with the choice between your baby dying and a few bills…well, it doesn’t seem like all that much money. 

This winter, and I almost hate to say it, we’ve all been ridiculously healthy.  Until yesterday at church when I noticed the little blister on Ryan’s eyelid.  And so the health care debacle from back when he was 5 months old comes full circle.

You see, during that hospital stay as a baby, we were informed that there was a young man on the ward with a severe case of chicken pox.  We were told to look out for it over the next few weeks.  Just around the time when that few weeks waiting period was over, baby Ryan began developing spots.  The spots flourished into a full-blown raging case of chicken pox that covered every inch of his tiny body and sent his temps into the 103s. 

Almost exactly a year later, just as I was going into the hospital to have Sean, Ryan developed spots again.  These spots were only on the right side of his face, and by the time I got out of the hospital they were in full bloom. 

Shingles on the trigeminal nerve can be particularly painful and dangerous, because when they effect the eye there’s a 10% chance of it causing permanent blindness. 

So when thet spots that have been developing on the right side of his face these past couple of weeks sent out an assault on his eye yesterday the questions of, “Is it shingles?  Do we need to go to the doctor?”  were answered for me.  He has to be seen, even if it will set us back $150.  More if he has to see the eye doctor.  More if he needs acyclovir. 

Just when I thought we had made it through the month without a problem.  What do you think?  Should I sue the hospital where he contracted the chicken pox for all subsequent medical bills we have incurred as a result of his having acquired that virus?  Or should we just let it go….

It depends on how mad I am after his appointment today…I might be asking in the millions for pain and suffering alone.

Inside the Christmas Card

Last minute as usual, this is the photo going in the Christmas cards this year:

Back After the Storm

Well, that was quite a weekend.  In the heart of the ice storm here in NY, we lost power very early in the dark of Friday morning.  I got the kids dressed as they woke up and we made our way, very slowly, to grandma’s house and heat. 

We spent the weekend there until our power was restored Sunday afternoon.

So–I missed having been tagged by Elena!  She has tagged me to list the ten most fascinating Catholics of 2008.  I would like to play along, even if I am a little late and could only come up with seven.  Here they are:

1.  Anthony M. Kennedy–US Supreme Court Justice

2.  Anne Rice–yes, the author of both erotica and vampire fiction (Interview with the Vampire) has returned to her faith and is now writing Christian Catholic books.  Her new book out this year is Christ the Lord:  Return to Cana.

3.  Clarence Thomas, US Supreme Court Justice

4.  Jim Caviezel–this pro-life Catholic actor who portrayed Jesus Christ in The Passion of Christ, gave his time to the McCain campaign this year and continues to be outspoken on matters of his faith.

5.  Eduardo Verastequi–Mexican actor and star of the film Bella.  There’s a beautiful interview with him here. 

6.  Dr. Alan Keyes–few people realize he’s Catholic.  He continues to fight in an intelligent way to transform political corruption–particularly in Illinois (ahem).

7.  Sam Brownback–US Senator and this year’s leader of Catholics for McCain.

National Prayer Vigil for Life

From The Long Island Catholic:

The annual National Night of Prayer for Life, which originated on Long Island, will take place Monday night, December 8 into Tuesday morning, Dec. 9…
The night of prayer intends to invoke the Blessed Mother under the titles of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe. The dates seek to unite the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with that of St. Juan Diego, the poor Indian peasant who brought the message of Guadalupe to the world.
The National Night of Prayer for Life began as an outgrowth of a monthly all-night prayer vigil for life in a single parish (Our Lady of Lourdes in Massapequa Park) more than 20 years ago. Today it is celebrated in all 50 states and beyond. In fact, this year the committee has received notice that the event will be implemented by a priest in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Our local parish is signing people up for hour long prayer.  I will be attending, praying for all those effected by abortion, praying that God will effect change in the hard-hearted, and of course, for the unborn.

Second Sunday of Advent

And all is sorta quiet.  We, like most of you this time of the year, are very busy lately.  Between the general family business, Ed and I started an RCIA (Catholic Education for Adults) class which we will now be attending every Thursday evening.  It was a great group of people and they were very welcoming to us, and especially to Ed, which meant a lot to me.

Ed’s new job is going great, aside from a phone call his new employer got from his old employer, a phone call of a very suspicious nature.  This old boss was a big part of the reason Ed left his job, and when Ed gave his two weeks, the guy went into denial, trying to beg and cajole Ed into staying.  There was nothing they could say to keep him, and when the Monday that he began his new job rolled around, the “old boss” tried calling him at home and at his new job.  How insaneis that?  The guy had been in his job as manager of this company for about 6 months and never made one effort to learn what Ed does, not even after Ed gave his notice.  Then he calls Ed demanding to know what’s going on even after employment had officially terminated.  What a psycho.   Then my poor husband had to field questions at the new office about why he left his last job so “abruptly.”  He gave his two weeks!  I guess his old boss called the new place to give them the impression that Ed left them high and dry.  Just to give Ed a hard time, just in an effort to make life a little harder.  I’m telling you, I was feeling almost homicidal when Ed relayed all of this to me.

It’s a good thing it was on our way to Mass and I had an opportunity to get some peace!  Some people are just unbelievable.  There’s just no explaining it. 

In better news, we put up our lovely Christmas tree yesterday, and all stayed up late to watch Polar Express.  It’s such a beautiful movie, I love watching the children all wide-eyed and staring at the television, mesmerized by the magic. 

This is the last week before all of the real holiday craziness starts, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to start my second annual gingerbread house building.  From scratch, of course.  I’ll keep you posted on the progress.  Cheers!

The Master of Disaster

There’s a reason my 21 month old son has earned the name, “Master of Disaster.”  Today, he’s having one of his disaster days. 

It’s days like these when I change his clothes only to change them again an hour later after he pours someone else’s hot cocoa down the front of him.

My mother in law recently brought us these cute little glass bowls with lids that seal over the top of them.  These bowls are probably 50 years old, and have quietly resided in the home of my father-in-law’s parents for all of that time, storing food and minding their own business.  After being in our house for less than a week, The Master broke one of them today and now it’s in the trash!  So much for that.

Ed and I went to the eye glass store last night to replace his specs after they were bent and contorted beyond repair by the same toddler.  Mine are bent in an odd fashion as well, but you can’t tell when I’m wearing them.  I swear, I just sat down on the bed for a moment and put my glasses next to me.  By the time I thought about how just leaving them beside me was a bad idea, the boy was across the room with them trying to bend them onto his face. 

Yes, of course it’s my fault for not monitoring more closely what might be in his reach, but it just seems that some children are more prone to these disasters than others.  I personally think it’s a sign of his genius, but I might be biased. 

My mantra is this:  If there’s something around that can kill him, he’ll find it.  Trust me on this.  Why just the other day I found him standing beside the toilet with a tiny plastic tea cup, helping himself to a cuppa. 

I must remember not to let his cute throw me off balance.  He’s a Master of Disaster in size six diapers.

Beginnings

How dark outside!

but see — a star is in the sky;

Mary and Joseph are passing by.

So let’s light a candle to welcome them

as they go on their way to Bethlehem.

 

We’ll light a candle in church each day,

We’ll light one candle each week and pray.

 

We’ll light a candle at home each day,

We’ll light a candle each week and pray.

 

                      O God,

       as light comes from this candle,

may the blessing of Jesus Christ come to us,

           warming our hearts and

            brightening our way.

      May Christ our Savior bring light

      into the darkness of this world,

   and to us, as we wait for his coming.         –Children’s Advent Prayer

 

We lit our candle last night to light the way of Mary and Joseph as they make their way to Bethlehem.

 

We started the season of Advent as a family at Mass yesterday.  Thomas was moved by the Spirit as we sat waiting for the service to begin and began to spontaneously kiss and hug his brothers.  It was precious to see the love in his eyes as he looked at his family!  His small child’s heart was filled up with the love and miracles of the season.

 

Timely as well is Ed beginning a new job today.  He’s now working closer to home, and we’ll be able to have dinner together as a family as he’ll be home at five instead of at seven.  Huge benefit!  We’re so excited.  And to think, just 3 years ago he was working terribly long hours 6 days a week.  Now he’s making significantly more money and his hours let his family actually spend time with him.  They say miracles don’t happen, but they seem to happen pretty frequently around here.

 

Less than six years ago I was seven months pregnant with our first baby and Ed had just been fired from his job.  We were living in a musty apartment filled with lead paint, and the future was looking pretty frightening.  Now we have 3 babies, our own cute little house in the woods, and Ed has a great new job.  I think I owe a lot to Ed getting fired that day!  Like Fr. J said yesterday, we have to look for God working in our lives, even when it looks like we’re all alone. 

 

Look out for those miracles!  They show up everywhere during this season.