Swelling

This is the seventh day Maddie has had a fever. She has a rash that comes and goes with a dose of medicine. We've seen the doctor twice and are assured this is something "Viral" and we should wait it out.

I love my daughter but right now she's staring at me as I type and is also trying to tap random keys because she's bored. 

Seven days is a lot of days to be stuck on the sofa with your mom.

Seven days is a lot of days to be stuck on the sofa with your kid.

School has been in session for 10 days.
Maddie has been at school for 5 of those days.

These are not terrific odds for an Ivy League future. Also not terrific odds for the various plans I have for my child-free days. Like eating frosting out of the jar in my pajamas.

In other news my birthday was Friday and the day started out, you know, not good. I walked Max to school, since Maddie was staying home again, and the crossing guard suggested we'd woken up late. I thought because of my crazy morning pre-workout/shower hair, but no, she cheerfully told me it was because of my swollen eyes.

Oh-HO! No, I wanted to tell her, my eyes are not swollen because I just woke up. They're swollen because I went to bed crying and woke up crying and pretty much right now? You're making me want to cry. My birthday was preceded by some (unspoken) unpleasantness.

So I walked home with my swollen eyes, and as I came up the driveway I found three dead mice Gary appeared to have left me as a little birthday surprise. Isn't that nice? Too bad I didn't notice the fourth one until after I'd run it over with the car later in the day. Because that was a pretty unique way to say "Happy Birthday!"

But then I went to pick up Logan at the airport from his 9/11 overnight trip into hurricane country. The trip, given my bad day on Thursday, I was really convinced could only end in some unimaginable tragedy...just so my eyes would never stop being swollen.

But instead his flight got in on time and he'd set up a surprise sitter and slowly I realized all my favorite friends didn't just happen to be in a bar in downtown Detroit.

It was a good night, and exactly what I needed.
And when it was over, my eyes weren't swollen anymore.

Comments

[Mary Anne]

Happy belated birthday...and I'm so glad it ended with you not crying! Hope Maddie gets well soon, thats tough for both of you!

[HomeSlice]

nothing like a flattened dead mouse to make your birthday special. and i hope your daughter feels better soon.

[MelissainAtlanta]

I've had birthdays like that. Sorry! Happy belated Birthday!

[jenny]

ugh, my kid had that virus first week of school, too. Ran a fever for 6 days, then nasty cough for 2 more weeks. ALso two trips to doctor, saying WTF dude? Was finally told this is a normal Aug/Sept virus they are familiar with, its the virus that causes croup in younger children but by school age they just don't get the full-on croup part. So, good, I guess?
Happy (late) Barfday, as my kindergartner likes to say. :)

[Janssen]

Oh dear. I'm afraid I never would have gotten over the mice, even with all my friends in a bar together. Happy Birthday!

[Elizabeth]

Aw, Logan rules.
And Happy Belated Birthday. And I really hope Maddie gets better soon so you can get back to frosting related activities ASAP.

[Katherine owlfan]

Mice for your birthday reminds me of the time my mom got a rabbit for mothers day. Only hers was IN the house and the cat had kindly dragged it through the house, dripping blood. NOT her favorite mother's day!

[Chiara]

Glad to hear that your birthday got better. When it rains, it pours, eh? Hope your daughter is feeling better soon too. Hang in there!

[Alissa]

Oh, that's right! I forget that we share a birthday. Happy Birthday to YOU! Glad it turned into something wonderful!

[Alice]

Happy Belated Birthday! I hope that the mice were a one-time present from Gary, and that Maddie fights this thing off soon. Frosting days on the couch are hard to reschedule, you know.

[ashley]

Hey, we have the same birthday. I cried too. Must be the full moon or the fact that I was PMSing.

[mamalang]

I know people will roll their eyes at me, but you should have her tested for Lyme disease. My 9 year old has it and we haven't found a tick on her in months. It caused sleep disturbances, headaches and fevers. Her doctor originally told us it was that viral thing as well.

[Michelle]

Leave it to good husbands to save the day. :)

[Astrogirl426]

Oh sweetie, I'm sorry your day started off so crappy (and that you had unpleasantness to deal with before your birthday). And glad that Logan was able to save the day!

Too bad Gary can't be more like Hannah, our Bunker Kitty. We think she's part pointer, because when she finds a mouse in the house (which she just did tonight), she will sit there and stare at it instead of trying to catch/kill it. Like I said - pointer.

[MomVee]

Aw. My birthday was just the opposite: it started out great with breakfast in bed, poetic tributes and a trip into the city, but ended with my daughter swallowing a penny and spending the night in the hospital with me in a chair that "turns into" a "bed."

[anna]

Happy Birthday! Hope your daughter gets well soon.

[Nicole]

When I read about Maddie, I first wondered if she had the same sort of immune system problem that I have. When I am incredibly stressed out (and also not sleeping or eating well), I break out in a rash at my joints and am phenomenally tired. I generally need to go get a steroid shot at the hospital to calm down my immune system and get well. There are all kinds of immune system problems that doctors have a hard time diagnosing that are closely related to stress levels. Unfortunately the only real "treatment" is managing stress better. Yoga works really well for me. If you think it might be something like this, maybe you could try signing up for a yoga class with Maddie?
Happy birthday- sounds like you have an awesome husband.

[Sarah]

Happy belated birthday, and I hope Maddie feels better soon!

[getsheila]

Birthdays are overrated.

But I am glad yours turned out with a silver lining.

Happy birthday, funny lady.

[Amy]

Happy belated birthday. Often those kind of happy surprises are enough to get you through the days of swollen eyes.

As the Detroit marathon approaches, I'm hoping for no swollen eyes, but counting on them anyway.

[j-rap]

Aww. Sorry for the lame beginning of the day (did you kick the crossing guard? Cuz I tend to kick people that notice things like that out loud and I still want to kick the first person who noticed I was "showing" while pregnant). The surprise party sounds great!

[iMommy]

Happy belated, and thank goodness you had a good time :-)

Yay!

[3Angels&me]

You should have her tested for Lyme disease. Also do a thorough check for a bulls-eye. My friends son had the same thing - never ending fever, etc. No tick & the test for Lyme was negative (because he was symptomatic). The bulls-eye was the indicator. If not treated promptly, she may be in for long term problems.

[patois]

I thought Logan was your husband, but I had a bit of doubt when you said Gary had left you the dead mice. Phew! Happy birthday anyway.

[ATLCheap]

What a fun suprise. Hope your little one feels better soon.

[ATLCheap]

"surprise," that is....it's one of those days already.