Hello again!

Happy New Year to all! We are back in the beltway after our holiday adventures, Rachel is back in school, and Fiona has graduated to the 2-year-old playgroup. I think my last post was after Halloween (I hope there are still a few readers out there - add a comment, or send me a message so that I know you're still reading), so I'll just give a quick recap of our activities since then. November was a blur, lots of days off school and not a lot of real excitement. We had a truly lovely Thanksgiving with our friends Bill and Patti and their kids. For those who don't know, Patti and I have been friends since kindergarten. She and Bill live in Delaware, have 3 kids who are tweens and teens, and they invited us to share Thanksgiving with them. Patti could teach Martha Stewart a thing or two, and the meal, the table, her kids (and my kids too, believe it or not!!) were just perfect. It was a really beautiful day, and we are so grateful for their friendship and the invitation.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, we rushed Fiona off to the ER for a suspected broken thumb (an almost tragic toilet seat accident...) where she must have picked up the virus that hit her hard, right on her birthday. Poor little thing, she was soooo sick. High, high fever was the most worrisome symptom, and it lasted for 6 days. In the meantime, we had a nice visit from my sister and her friend Amy (and their 2 dogs, Jackson and Beebles). We gave Beth the virus, and then, once Fiona was feeling better, Rachel came down with it. Unfortunately, Rachel ALSO got the stomach virus going around at school at the same time. And then, after the fifth day of a really high fever (and by high, I mean 104 - 105) and 2 trips to the Dr., I called them again and they had me take her to the ER. After a NINE HOUR visit with the fine staff of the Fairfax ER, we learned that she also had a urinary tract infection that was prolonging and elevating her fever. And indeed, within 6 hours of the mega-dose of antibiotics they gave her, she was feeling much better.

Ten consecutive days of illness (poor kids, and also, lets hear it - poor mom!) meant that Rachel didn't get to have her birthday party, or really much of a celebration at all, but she was really OK with it all. We were planning to have a "Pajama party" with everything but the sleeping. All her party guests were really looking forward to it, but we had to postpone once, and then finally cancel.

The week after they recovered, we left for Michigan. We had good driving conditions, but when we got to Manistee there was TONS of snow. It was so exciting! Of course, the good people of Manistee were much less excited about it than we were, because the white stuff had been dumping down on them since opening day of deer season (Nov. 15). In fact, by the time the holiday break rolled around, they had had FIVE snow days. FIVE! That's a record, I'm sure, and you know they don't call off school for just anything up there. We got some pictures of the kids in snow piles and things like that, which I will post on my next entry, along with a complete description of our holidays. It'll be very exciting, including an account of a vicious hermit crab attack, so stay tuned! Probably sometime later this week or early next. Ah, it's great to be back in the saddle again! Cheers!