At Laaaaast . . .

The kids are better. Yes, Alice wound up getting them too, though she only had one teensy pox mark on her nose . . . I only recognized it for what it was because of Seth.
So good news everybody! Immunizations aren't a complete waste of time! The pediatrician believes that Alice and Thomas were shielded by having current immunizations. Which, to correct an inaccuracy in my last report, I must admit . . . Seth hadn't actually had his kindergarten pox booster. I only thought he had, but after going over his records at the office, we recalled that they were actually out of pox booster that day, and it was my responsibility to be sure he had it next time.
Well. We see how well that went. I mean, come on, I have three kids. I can't even remember where I put my keys half the time, and they wanted me to remember to come back in three months for a pox booster? The good news is that he doesn't need one now. So both kids had free pox boosters. Woo hoo! It wasn't worth it.
Being home bound for a week allowed me to get a few things done, though. I finally canned all the remaining peaches and jam I had from our picking expedition last week.



Yes, my precious progeney and I managed to pick a prolific amount of perfect peaches yet again. This year's haul amounted to 78 pounds. To read one of my favorite peach picking posts click here.
I also finished reading the works of Michael Pollan (In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma) along with a book written by one of my high school debate coaches, Waiting for the Light to Change. I finally sorted that huge stack of papers that has been sitting on my dresser forever, and we managed to replace our dearly departed Grand Am.
I also already have the year's quota of whine-listening filled, so I'm good there too.
One thing that has been cracking me up is Alice's fascination with all things Charlie & Lola. We've been borrowing the DVDs and books from the library, and she is completely enamored with Lola in particular. Charlie & Lola is a British children's television program, so of course the characters speak with an accent. Alice has been picking up the accent, and sounds a little too much like Oliver Twist when she asks, "Please mum, may I have some more?"
It all reminds me of a time before we had kids when I was extremely sick and had to miss a few days of work. One of the days Michael took off work also and we sat around watching videos for hours and hours on end. Of course, since I was the sick one, I got to choose what we watched, Sense & Sensibility, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (a little juvenile, I'll admit, but he'd never seen it, which was a travesty) and Emma were among my selections. That night Michael was talking in his sleep (a habit he has) with a British accent. That pretty much made the whole illness worth it.

Pretty Much The Best First Day of School EVER

Except Seth didn't actually go to school, because he has a mild case of what his baby brother refers to as "Chitten Potts."
Yes, he has been immunized against the Chitten Potts. Twice. He got a booster before kindergarten, as per Oregon state regulation. Apparently it didn't take.
The problem with this particular case of the Chitten Potts is that Seth doesn't feel sick. At all. So why can't he go to school? He really wants to go to school, pleeeeeze can he go to school? He promises not to cough, sneeze, itch or breathe if I just let him go to school. "No," I say. "The Chitten Potts are contagious. Now be quiet and quit jumping on the couch. You are supposed to be acting sick."
Speaking of contagious, let me apologize to all you who may have played with him last week. Or any who may have been in his primary class at church on Sunday. If I had had the tiniest inkling that those four persistent mosquito bites from our camping trip were actually the Chitten Potts, I swear I never ever ever would have let him within breathing distance of your child. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive us.
The thing is, they were only on his face (you can see them in some of our Cape Perpetua pictures) . . . which also happened to be the place I try to avoid with insect repellent. I was so sure they were mosquito bites . . . until he woke up Monday with twenty more.

Please don't mind the fact that he's cross-eyed, I made him take of his bifocals for the shot. And the sores in his nose are particularly icky, try not to look too closely.

So instead of spending the first day of school at school, we opted for the Emergency Room. Because when our two-year old finds expired medication in my purse (It was only in there because I was planning to bring it in to Medication Take-Back at the pharmacy) and manages to get the child-proof lid off (how come he can get it off, but I can't?) that is where Poison Control tells us to go. To the Emergency Room. And then they recommend that we stay there to be monitored for four hours, under QUARANTINE because one of us has the Chitten Potts.

So we all happily watch PBS kids and Star Wars: A New Hope and force him to drink charcoal/chocolate milk until it is apparent that Thomas is fine. Which would lead me to deduce that today was pretty much the best first day of school ever.