When The Boys Get Sick...

...everyone suffers...

Perhaps I have some supped-up immune system because luckily I did not fall victim to whatever affliction Todd and Colt did last night. Let's call it the four hour flu. Because that's how long it took to run it's course.

Things were going well...we had dinner and then the usual 6pm fussiness set in. The problem is when it came bed time (8pm) it wouldn't stop. By 10pm, while Todd slept, I was nearly catatonic while still entertaining a now completely hysterical, inconsolable little baby. We want to nurse, then we don't want to nurse, we want to be burped, then we barf uncontrollably (which, by the way makes the nursing feel totally useless), we want to be swaddled, then we freak uncontrollably and try to scratch our face off, then we want to be held upright, then sideways, then on the stomach, then patted, then rubbed, then left alone...and on and on and on.

So, by 11:30ish I was completely at my wit's end with the baby laying in his crib at the other end of the house with the vacuum cleaner running. And, then I heard the sound of heaven: total silence. He was wide awake, but listening to the vacuum cleaner run and run and run.

Hmm...

Meanwhile, Todd is up suffering from the worst bout of lack of intestinal fortitude I've ever seen, suffering hot flashes and cold bouts, shaking uncontrollably and feeling all around pretty crappy. Pretty much what the baby was feeling, but lacking the ability to vocalize.

So, the baby, the dog and myself camped out in the back bedroom, far from Todd (who had to be to work in...oh, 4 hours....) with the hall light on and the vacuum cleaner blaring away. After 20 minutes I attempted to shut of the vacuum, but was met with more hysterics. Somehow I managed to sleep with it running for almost an hour and a half with one finger plugging my ear. When I woke up at 3am this morning I shut the vacuum off, nursed the baby and he went to sleep like nothing had been wrong. Just like that - over it and acting like nothing had happened. Acting like the night had gone smoothe.

I promptly put him next to Todd in the bassinet and retreated to the back bedroom where I got 1 hour of uninterrupted sleep before Todd left for work. Then, when Todd left I spoiled myself (and Colt) and slept for another 2 hours!!

I think I'll invest in another vacuum.

And he's so cute this morning. I take back all the things I said last night..and even the ones I thought and didn't say. And today he's the perfect little baby again.

More Pics of the Cutest Baby Ever!

Colton's first pumpkin! My mom brought it over for him the other day. Funny a pumpking that can fit in one hand is that much bigger than him!

Just hanging. We do a lot of that!

This is how we get through those afternoon screaming bouts. He likes to be strapped in the front carrier and walked around the house. Notice the iPod with the head phones. Todd walks him singing (if you can call it that...) the lyrics to Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice Baby." Maybe that's why he cries? hmm..... I take him in the front pack too, but stick to the old fashioned orange ear plugs.

Baby's first bottle! My first sense of independance knowing dad can handle the feedings! We call this being thankful for breast pumps!

Sicko.

When a person claims they have just "gotten over" the H1N1 virus should they really be out at the local grocery store pawing through the produce section, ordering from the deli case and generally spreading germs about? Or, worse yet, should said person who's entire family has "just gotten over the swine flu" hug a person toting a 3 week old baby? Maybe I'm over reacting here, but seriously people...I don't want to spend my last weeks of paid leave from work sick as hell. And, moreover, I don't want to spend my last weeks of paid leave sick as hell, nursing a sick husband and nursing a sick 3 week old baby!! Geez.

My mom, the kid and I were out running errands the other day and ran in to a kid I grew up with. Well, the kid is about 30 years old now, has a wife (of probably 8 years), a kid in kindergarten and another that's about 3 or 4 years old. Anyway, I hadn't seen him in ages, so I walked over, said hi, gave him a big hug and exchanged the usual "what have you been up to?"

"Well, we had the baby...he's about 3 weeks old now. Things are good. How's the wife? How are the kids? I bet you have one in school now, don't you?"

"Yeah...things are good. My oldest son is in kindergarten this year. Although, he hasn't been in two weeks. We all just got over the swine flu. We were holed up for, like, 8 days. I had a temperature of 104 degrees and almost had to go to the hospital. We're doing good now though."

"Step back from the baby dude."

Right. I'm sure you're feeling fine. Aren't we all? I mean, aren't we all feeling fine...the ones of us that DON'T have the swine flu?

"Alright. Well, we've got to be going!! Swine flu? OK mom. Don't touch anything. Let's get our stuff and get outta here. Yuck."

I swear there isn't enough hand sanitizer for me to take another trip to the grocery store. Gross.

Sick Cows...Everyone's Favorite!

We're such naturals at this whole farming thing. Sometimes I wonder what we've gotten ourselves into. It will be nothing short of a miracle if these things live to see the slaughter house! Who knew you could actually overfeed a cow? Can't they eat any amount of anything? Apparently not because when we fed them, oh, ten 5 gallon buckets of some left over granola they weren't right for a few days. Apparently if cows are licking the wood in their shed it means they are missing some minerals...

After an early morning call to the vet's office they assessed they had a serious case of indigestion and recommended giving them a pound of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda - an antacid) and each of them would need to be giving 4 magnesium oxide tablets (a laxative). Because a person can just walk right up to a cow, ask them to open their mouth and put the pills in, right? Or, maybe if they were laying down we could just slip them in? No doubt this involved putting the halter on them and we haven't been practicing that...

I found 4 pound packages of baking soda at Cash and Carry and, surprisingly, when it was sprinkled on the salt block they licked it right up. Sadly enough I wasn't part of the pill-popping brigade. That was left to Todd and my dad - the official cow whisperers.

The scene played out something similar to the time we had #84 castrated. If you remember it was pretty much a shit show. I was inside with the baby and caught most of the show from the kitchen.

#86 went well. Well, its hard to struggle much with the rope so tight around one's neck....and #81 (the bull) even went well. I think they were even able to get the halter on him. #84 got his dose too, but the best part was watching Todd try to run down the sketchy #85. He's a little wiley and pretty quick and obviously was feeling much better than the others because he ran Todd back and forth across the field a good 5 times before Todd gave up. I'm thinking if the cow is running the 40 yard dash he's probably feeling alright and doesn't need the medicine anyway.

So, what we've learned here is that cows can develop a fairly common condition called acute acidosis that is similar to a person getting an upset stomach. That condition requires a person to dose them orally which sucks. You're better off cutting back the grain and sticking with upping the roughage!! Who knew?

In With One and Out With Another...

Animals...animals...animals....

Just when you think we should start charging admission to the "Smeltzerville Petting Zoo" we have added to our brood! We recently acquired (short term anyway) another horse!! I know what you're thinking: I have 5 more weeks until I can even think about getting on the one I already have, so why another? Well, Shadow is the retired 4-H project of a friend of mine who needed a place to crash for a little while. Jazzy had a difficult time accepting the gift of instant friend, but after a couple of days seems to be doing just fine with it.

And, as one comes in one goes out! Tux, the black and white cat (get it? Tux?) that we acquired a couple of years ago has gone back to his real home with his dad Burch. Before Todd and I bought our house we were living at the beach at Semiahmoo. Our friend Burch went sailing for nearly a year and we took over watching Tux. Well, after a voyage full of wild tails that spanned from here to Mexico, Hawaii and back he has landed safely in Blaine and was excited to see his old friend Tux. He moved out yesterday and was headed to a much quieter house with Burch and his 12 year old Chihuahua, Pancha. I'm sure he's glad to be out of our mad house!