Growing a Critter

Howdy friends. I’m WAY delayed in writing many updates, so I’ll start with our trip to Memphis at the beginning of April. The Rhodes Biology department had invited me to be a part of their seminar series a while ago, and the dates just worked out that the trip would coincide with the 13th anniversary of our first date. So that was a happy accident (both the trip, and the circumstances of our first date, as well as many aspects of our relationship, as it is with most). The talk was called, “Eating in the Rat or eating rats? From Rhodes to the Bushmeat Crisis.” A little cheesy (ha!) but anyone that knows Rhodes might find it a little funny.

We arrived on Saturday, which gave us time to spend with family and friends. We got to visit with Big & Little Grams, Uncle Philip and George and Barry.

The Critter loved spending time outside with his Great Uncle Philip

…and being loved on by his Great Little Grams (Little Great Grams? we’ll work that out)

Of course we had to take him to Graceland.

It’s very important that he know where Elvis lived and came from.

When we went to Huey’s this time, he kept his shirt on at the table (though his socks are another story). Good thing, too, because Jessica said she couldn’t have any redneck babies at her table!

It was really nice to be back at Rhodes, and to catch up with the faculty members that had such a big influence on me. I had a good number of students at the seminar - though many of the intro-level students were bribed with extra credit to attend. They asked very good questions, too. Of course we were so caught up in what was going on that we didn’t take any pictures of the Critter at Rhodes, but I did manage to capture a picture of the Rat Statue.

Family is on our minds a great deal right now. Dave’s brother Barry had a bad accident last weekend. He was camping with some friends and went out for a solo hike. He slipped on some rocks and fell 60 feet, breaking both arms and scraping himself up pretty badly. It was a couple of hours before he was found and evacuated by helicopter to Vanderbilt. He’s going to be ok, but he’s got a lot of healing and physical therapy ahead of him. We’ll keep you posted.

Critter’s pa, here. The following note was sent to a friend of ours who knows about these things. We solicit guidance from all quarters, though, so…

we have been cast on TELEVISION (it’s the future of moving pictures, you know). emeril (he of the BAM, and of the notches kicked up, etc.) is hosting a new show on the the new discovery subnetwork, planet green. the premise is that emeril helps you solve a cooking problem having to do with weird challenges and sustainability (more at http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/emeril-green-casting-call.html). the [quasi-anonymous family is] going to the beach this summer and brings about a hundred dietary preferences, tastes, and restrictions (ranging from seafood-averse sisters to buddhist brothers-in-law to no-dairy Critter). emeril will SOLVE ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS!!!!

ok. so, they’re doing a location shoot at our house this weekend (no emeril), and we’ll film the emeril invents the perfect meal for us segment at a whole foods with a studio kitchen in a few weeks.

we have basic guidance on what to wear (no black or white, rich colors and simple patterns are good).

natalie has a friend who does this kind of tv often (he goes on martha stewart to talk about bugs in your backyard, etc.), and he says to tell funny stories, instead of listing tastes, making speeches, etc.

what wisdom can you give us?

aaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!

televisually,
d

I am both stoked and horrified by this opportunity to have fun on the teevees and to help (and be helped) with sustainable food practices while being part of a family whose home will be very much exposed to, well, a wider viewership than is typical.

This week is a perfect storm of potential (yet thus far averted) catastrophe. [Hold while I go knock on some wood.] Three things:

1. We’ve got a BIG meeting tomorrow and much of the past two weeks has been spent doing nothing but preparing for this.
2. Dave’s away at a conference for the latter part of the week.
3. The Pope is in town.

My blood pressure is high and my milk supply is low. Amazingly, all of my stress about traffic complications due to the Pope’s visit have not come to pass. I’ve spent a good bit of this week trying hard not to be mad at the Pope, because that wouldn’t be very nice. I’m not a Catholic, but respect the significance of the visit. Looks like there’s a bit of divine intervention there. Thanks, Pope! P.S. Love the cute red shoes you’re sporting.

The Critter’s day care is going to a local farm tomorrow to visit some animals and enjoy what should be a *gorgeous* day. I really wish I could be there! The next trip is probably going to be Chucky Cheese - not the same thing. I *am* taking him to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival next weekend, though! Whoo!

I still need to write up the Memphis trip - it was terrific! The Critter enjoyed his first trip to the Graceland gates!

Lots to catch up on, SOooooo little time, so we’ll just hope that you’re enjoying the beautiful cherry blossoms as much as we are!

We’re heading out for Memphis on Saturday, and I’m giving a seminar at Rhodes on Monday for the Bio department. It’s going to be fun!

I stopped by Union Station this morning before coming to the office to get a coffee, and happened to walk by the bookstore. Easter displays were up front, of course, and I glanced at a few books to see what I might get for the Critter’s Easter basket. There were a few about the story of Easter and God’s love for us, and I’ll probably get one of those for the Critter.

…And then there was The Velveteen Rabbit. And Puff the Magic Dragon. Oh my. I’m a big ol’ sap these days and am quick to emote, especially when babies, dogs, cats, wildlife or any other thing that doesn’t have the power that grown-ups do are involved. But MAN. Those stories just really get me. The rabbit is REAL. Little Jackie Paper doesn’t come back and Puff is LONELY. I had to leave the store lest I start boo-hooing in front of hundreds of commuters.

On a happier note, the Critter got his second tooth yesterday! We could see it coming up, but it hadn’t broken through until yesterday morning. CHOMP.

Here he is, exploring the cherry tree we planted for him last fall. It’ll be in full bloom within a couple of days!

Yesterday, our (still sick, apparently - everyone’s all, “oooh, yellow stuff coming out of the nose. Blech.”) boy saw his pediatrician for a “hey, you’re six months old! Let’s poke around a bit, maybe give you some shots, measure things, whatnot” visit. Two vaccinations per thigh, thanks, and an Rx for newer, badder antibiotics to rilly rilly kill that persistent ear infection.

17.1 lbs.
26.75 inches
43.5 cm around that giant skull

And…

A Tooth! A tiny, tiny tooth in the front of the bottom row.

Chomp.

A friend and neighbor was checking in with me on how we were all recovering from the icky sickie week we’ve had, and she asked the following question “How’s the mucus factor going at casa de Bailey Eubanks?”

Herewith, my reply:

The mucous around here is THREAT LEVEL SNOTTY. Not as high as it was last weekend (THREAT LEVEL OHMYGOD), nor as much as earlier this week (THREAT LEVEL GEEZEELPETE) but still significant. When you can blow bubbles with your snot, that’s an issue. I’m counting the days until the little guy can blow his nose!

Also, rectal thermometers? Not as scary as you might think. He barely notices. But [I initially wrote “butt” – hee!] the story of our inability to find a single functioning thermometer is epic as well as pricey. The winner was a $5 piece of digital crap that we picked up at the Grocery Store/Co-op. Of course.

Poor little critter. We’ve both been sick for more than a week now, but he’s had a rougher time of it recently. On Saturday, he got his first fever, and while Dave was on the phone with the doctor, the Critter coughed. The doctor said it sounded pretty bad, and advised us to go to the ER to get tested for RSV. The test came back negative, but they did give him an albuterol inhaler and a nebulizer breathing treatment while we were there. He was so unhappy all day on Saturday, but was a bit more cheerful after a long nap.

To make matters worse, before he got feverish, on Friday night, I followed the advice of his GI specialist and “challenged” his dairy sensitivity. I had cheese! And I was surprised to discover that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. What I did enjoy was the chocolate chip cookie I had on Saturday (after I waited for a messy diaper to see if there was any blood). The ER docs said that dairy didn’t have anything to do with his symptoms. However, later in the day, we discovered a big bad rash on the Critter’s back. So, no more dairy after that.

On Sunday, he vomited a lot several times, which worried me. We called the doctor again, and she advised us that babies can vomit if they cough really hard and gag themselves. She also said to bring him in today. I had the day off, but Dave didn’t, so I took him in. He had a fever of 99 (and that’s after Tylenol), and the big news is that he has ear infections in both ears. Both! Poor baby. The doctor said that normal eardrums are smooth and grey, like wax paper. His eardrums reportedly looked “like raw chicken.” Poor little guy! To make matters worse, the doctor tested his messy diaper and it tested positive for blood. So no more dairy for me for a while.

So he’s now on the following medications: amoxicillin twice a day, albuterol inhaler every 4-6 hours and tylenol every 4-6 hours. He’s had some happy moments today, but has also had some really fussy, upset moments. Dave’s staying home tomorrow, and I’ll stay home Wednesday. If need be, Dave will stay home on Thursday and we’ll take it as it comes after that.

The little guy’s going to be fine, but it’s kind of rough for him right now. We’ll keep you posted on developments. To end on a happy note, here’s the little one enjoying his feet.

It’s been a really hectic week, and finally today is a bit calmer than it has been recently. The critter and I are both sick, coughing and sniffing. Well, he doesn’t sniff - he blows snot bubbles. MMMMMM! I took a bad tumble on the ice on Tuesday and scraped the heck out of my right knee. Again. Yesterday was non-stop, with three back-to-back-to-back meetings.

I’ve missed updating on new critter developments, like the fact that I finished his baby blanket. Woot! It’s the Mason Dixon Moderne Baby Blanket (Ravelry link). I used Debby Bliss Pure Cotton and size 8 needles. It’s a bigger gauge than what the pattern calls for, but I used my mad math skillz and rejiggered the pattern a bit. I ended up knitting about 3/4 of the rows called for in the pattern, and I think 4/5 of the stitches. I’ll have to recheck my notes to confirm that. Regardless, it’s a big rectangle, so as long as the colors look good, the size doesn’t matter as much!

Here’s the Critter enjoying his new blankie…

It started out like this…

And it just grew and grew! Because I started it only a few weeks before the critter was born (and actually, this was my second attempt, after I discovered that I wanted more color cohesion than my first attempt), it was slow going for a long while. I did take it into the delivery room with me, but don’t recall doing much of anything on it while I was in labor. Well, maybe in the early hours… Can’t really remember!

After the critter was born, there was just no time to work on it. If he wasn’t eating or screaming, we were both sleeping. And since he so often slept on me, I wasn’t about to disturb what precious sleep we could get with knitting motions. But since he started sleeping a bit better, I’ve been able to pick it up and finish it after he’s gone to bed. It’s so soft and squishy and I love it. Yay blankie!

First of all: Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Second: Happy Super Tuesday! How in the world we get both Mardi Gras and Super Tuesday on the same day is beyond me!

Third: All of my closest blood relatives of voting age get to vote today except me. Georgia, Illinois and even Alaska have their primaries today, and I have to wait until next week’s “Potomac Primary” in which Maryland, DC and Virginia all vote.

Fourth: Don’t you think there’s a strong resemblance between my

Daddy and the former Governor of Arkansas?

We’re going to a Super Tuesday party tonight! Wonks of DC unite!