for many reasons, the holidays not the least of them, this blog has fallen by the wayside. in order to catch up on a very long, very exhausting few weeks, i will tell you a story...one that, now that i'm pausing to reflect on it, begins and ends at the zoo.
last time we checked in, we were all set to gear up for some serious holiday cheer. david and i were much anticipating a shared long weekend off together with our chicago clan plus my parents and brother travis. we spent the evening of december 23rd checking out zoo lights, an event at the lincoln park zoo where it stays opened after hours with billions of lights and music and crafts, plus or minus a glimpse of some animals. we've been spoiled with an absurdly warm winter so far, so after just a few minutes in the low 20s, we rushed to our favorite vietnamese restaurant for some vegetable pho to thaw ourselves.
after the little elves were tucked into bed, david kept me company in santa's workshop, fingers burning through the final stitches of my knitting projects, and finally wrapping everything up in the paper the kids made with their fat footprints. at the library several weeks ago, i helped myself to a large stack of old library book cards, being used as scrap paper now that everything is computerized. i love these old cards--they are neat and well preserved yet much older than me. we had fun reading our titles and dates aloud as we opened gifts christmas morning. | ||
| emily's cowl |
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| nani's scarf |
i had anticipated another yeast disaster and bought several packets this year, but exhausted, i covered it with plastic and went back to bed. as predicted, christmas day brought bright blue skies and temps in the high 40s. i so enjoyed my unplanned christmas walk the year before, i suggested we do the same this year together to relax and connect as a family before the gift exchange. we settled on a walk to our favorite beach, because how many times in our lives might we spend xmas at a beach?!
christmas morning started like any other, with awaking to the sound of our gymnast toddler bouncing in her crib.
we let the boys sleep in a little as we got changed and dressed and had a snack. next, bean set off to wake the men in her life. first, dad.
unsuccessful. so, we moved on to reese. yes, he does actually sleep in our bathroom. not an exaggeration.
the groggy boys
after getting dressed and strapped into the stroller, we were off to the beach. for days we'd been so excited for this outing.
unfortunately, this excitement was not shared by all. kept far from the beach for months now, our little mermaid was thrilled at the chance take a dip in lake michigan. she was quite unhappy when her parents would not permit this.
and so, back in the stroller we went as bean screamed all the way home. and that is life with kids. you plan and plan and anticipate and if the stars don't align, everyone needs to readjust their expectations and plans rather quickly.
however, we came in to find that the cinnamon rolls made an impressive comeback and made for a really spectacular xmas breakfast. i used this recipe but of course, replaced half the white flour with spelt. they were a huge hit.
christmas was a true success. i got every single thing on my list, socks, yoga pants, a sweatshirt, tea, and two hanks of malabrigo wool, as well as some surprises. so many great gifts, and the kids really cleaned house. presents had to be opened in three phases to allow sufficient time for naps and meals in between, and again they have more clothes and toys than they could possibly know what to do with.
mom and dad finished off the night with a looooooong christmas run that left our joints aching with great views of the city alit for the holiday, and we came back to an impressive xmas spread including pork chops from heritage foods, a rare meat indulgence for dad.
since i know you've all been silently cheering me along, i am happy to report i did indeed finish my xmas knitting. i think for the most part, people genuinely liked their gifts, and if they didn't, they couldn't say anything because it would hurt my feelings. so there. on december 26th went into such severe withdrawal that i have knit several projects since. i was excited to turn my attention elsewhere, but i'd become so attached to my knitting, i really couldn't function without it. fortunately, there are many birthdays and birth days coming up, so i have plenty to keep my fingers busy.
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| modeling their gifts, aunt emmy and uncle eric |
over the next couple of days, david's case of the minor sniffles started to trickle down to other members of the family. bean became a little stuffy, but without her pacifier she continued to sleep well and play nicely during the day. but as we approached the new year, reese also became ill, and bean became downright miserable.
still working the 3-11 shift, i came home minutes into 2012 to find my parents looking utterly weary on the couch with a shriveled, almost lifeless looking little bean. she developed a horrible cough so violent it made her gag and left her hoarse, she refused to eat or drink anything for days, a constant stream poured out of her eyes and nose, and she could barely breathe. after consulting with dad working overnight, i gave her a prolonged steam bath, some benadryl, and put her to sleep with a humidifier. when david got home the next morning as she woke only about 25% alive, we had a long conversation about whether or not to take her to the er. new years day without a hope of urgent care or a pediatrician, the er would be our only option to treat what appeared to be a losing battle against pneumonia.
i've had sick, sick, sick patients who can't survive without constant oxygen, who have smoked 2 packs a day for 45 years, who have lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, who are trached, vented, intubated...i'm telling you, i've never seen a person so acutely ill as my sweet little princess was. but knowing what trauma would await her at the hospital and that between the two of us we could monitor her closely, we decided to keep her home. it was a looooooong road to recovery, complicated by dad coming down with stomach flu new years afternoon, then me the day after, trying to quarantine the kids as that might have actually killed them superimposed on the respiratory infection...my night with the stomach flu was particularly challenging, between hourly sprints to the bathroom reese doesn't sleep in, poor dad barely out of the woods himself running to reese's bathroom to somehow latch him to my limp body to nurse him out of his misery temporarily.
being so sick is always a low point, but also very humbling, especially as a care provider. and, while i was crippled with fear that i couldn't care for the kids when they so needed it, it was reassuring to see dad and particularly nani (jeannette was fortunately out of town for this ordeal) really step in and care for whoever needed the most care at any given moment. after about 100 steam baths, 47,000 gallons of water converted to steam to humidify our apartment, 100 boxes worth of snotty tissues, bottles of saline spray, bulb syringes, and many, many, many doses of motrin and benedryl, these kids (and grown ups) really pulled through the darkest hour. reese has been whinier than usual as he's working hard on a new tooth, and i went to get bean the other morning and found her room, crib, and self splattered liberally with vomit, but other than that, we have survived with a new army of antibodies to ensure none of us ever goes through that again.
the kids are back to their old antics, playing together, reading, running around, filling the rooms with laughter, raiding our alcohol supply, etc.
last friday brought one last day of 50 and sunny, and with two mostly well kids, two parents off work, and two grandmas, it seemed only reasonable that we head to the zoo. bean has had many trips to the zoo in her short life, but this is the first time she really, truly enjoyed herself. finally bipedal, she had an absolute ball with so much space to run around and explore, and the wonder on her face when her favorite story characters came to life, roaring lions and tigers, swinging monkeys, mooing cows, was really great.
illness can be a large setback, and for babies in particular it seems to stunt their development temporarily. just learning to eat solids, reese self imposed a liquid only diet for a few weeks while he was on the mend. he's just starting to gain his appetite back for cereal and purees, and really likes red split lentils. bean emerged from her brush with death with a touch of brilliance...suddenly she speaks english and spanish, saying the names of objects she's pointed to for months now. she even identifies letters she sees in words. really impressive. we're a ways from verbs and sentences, but this is a language breakthrough like none before it. both kids made their triumphant return to music class this week.
david has been enjoying a few weeks of elective that he's spent honing some ultrasound skills, which is fast becoming the future of emergency medicine. or it is the future, and is fast becoming the present, maybe? in any case, he's really enjoying himself.
some changes on my floor have allowed me to work a rather ideal schedule of two 7a-7p shifts per week, leaving me plenty of time to do whatever else i'd like to, including picking up some shifts in the icu, and hopefully i'll soon do some shadowing in the er.
other than that, i've stayed busy with my knitting, some leisure reading, and working on a few goals we've set for ourselves this new year. i am hoping to take on my first garment project for myself in the next few months along with some other knitting goals. we each have made some goals for our running as well. david and i have a shared project to make every recipe in our new vegetarian cookbook before 2013. the book is divided by season, with 12 menus, or roughly one per week for the year. it's simple, manageable and organized, so far very delicious, and has become a fun ritual for us. we keep a baggie with the numbers 1-12 and every time we finish a recipe, we pick the next one out of the bag. this week we had sweet potato collard green coconut curry with jasmine rice and fried tempeh. really, really good.
anyhow, after a really blessed christmas, we rang in the new year by weathering our worst storm thus far as a family, and we have stronger bonds and immunity to show for it, which are just as great of blessings. thank you to all for the thoughtful, fun gifts you sent to us and the kids. a special thanks to nani, who somehow managed to take care of all of us without ever falling victim to our various plagues--we quite literally could not have survived without her help that week.
winter officially arrived in chicago yesterday with 6 inches of snow...stay warm, safe and well, and we'll be in touch soon.
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