Happy Pi day! Sadly, I did not have any pie to celebrate. Do hamburgers count? They’re round.

This has been one sick winter. OP has had 3 rounds of ear infections, all direct results from various day care illnesses. Of course, then she infected Daddy and Mommy, and we both ended up with ear infections. We were all on antibiotics last week. My ears are still funny and I haven’t been able to fully exercise yet. The elliptical today made me a little dizzy so no running this week I think, which is a shame because I was getting so close to a 30 minute 5k on the treadmill. That’s okay, I’ll start up again next week and get back on track. I’m learning in my old age that if you fall or if you stop,  you can always start again.

Trying to look innocent after playing with Mommy's yarn and knitting book

Case in point, my Central Park Hoodie Sweater. I’ve finally finished the sleeve after 3 weeks of knitting, frogging, knitting, frogging. etc. My basic problem is even though I did a really good gauge swatch and even though my first inclination was correct, I had issues trusting the gauge, measurements, and pattern. Thankfully, I’ve cast off and I’m leaving the sleeve be unless it doesn’t fit in the sweater. Then I’ll rework it. I’m just not going to think about that right now.

Taking a break from cleaning the house.

I am amazed at how hilarious my daughter is. OP is just crazy funny. She thinks everything is hilarious and her little personality, that of an imp, is starting to show. She is very much her father’s daughter, always up to something. One of her favorite games is to pull my yarn out of the bin and hand it to me, take it a way, snuggle with it, hand it to me, and so on. I suspect we will have a knitter on my hands in a few years. I am definitely enjoying the whole parenthood thing. I’m sure I’ll have a different story when she’s a teenager.

Last week was probably the week from hell for our little girl. Tuesday we received a call from daycare notifying us that OP had a rash. It didn’t sound like a major rash; all over her body, yes, but just an allergy. We decided to wait and see what she actually looked like in a few hours when we picked her up.

Our daycare is awesome and we are very happy with it, but occasionally we get a call that, “OMG come quick get the child! She’s diseased!” and we dutifully leave work and she’s 100% fine. Since the rash started in early afternoon and didn’t seem to be bothering her, we decided to wait. Of course, we called the doctor’s office first to make sure she was okay to stay but that we should get her in to see someone that night or the next day.

And here’s the fun part that you must remember for later in our story. Our doctor’s office was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday because there was something wrong with the building. No doctor was physically available.

The Husband and I walked into daycare to get OP. Our plan was to take her to dinner and the store before bed. That plan was derailed when we saw how bad the rash was. It had been getting worse with raised red bumps over a good portion of her body. Much screaming from the Daughter because THE NURSE LOOKED AT ME! and THE DOCTOR USED A STETHOSCOPE! and THEY! LOOKED! IN! MY! EAR! and we find out that our poor little girl had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics for an ear infection. Poor thing went into this appointment hating all things medical and that did not ease up after Tuesday.

We were sent home with a new antibiotic script and ben@dryl. Shortly after we got home, OP looked like this:

You have to love her attempt at a smile.

This was much better than when we saw her at daycare. You can imagine we were extremely relieved. That is, until found her in the morning looking like this:

Needless to say, we were worried, but we figured the ben@dryl just wore off and the rash came back like the doctor warned. Unfortunately, ben@dryl makes OP’s heart pound, teeth chatter, and body shake. Yup, some kids become hyper from the drug and ours was one of them. To be fair, she really enjoyed having teeth that chattered.

As the day wore on, she developed a temperature and her red spots started looking like bruises. Call the emergency line for the doctor’s office that is currently closed and get sent to their partner doctor 30 minutes away. Fever of 103, negative for flu, and the bruising spots are normal. OP screamed throughout BUT got her very first ice pop and that seemed to be almost worth the torment. I bet if they had given her a good flavor and not orange, she would have learned to love the doctor’s office.

Unfortunately as we were leaving, we were told to go the next day to our regular doctor to check on the fever. Our poor little girl who has been tortured by stethoscopes, suffered a fever, looked like she had the plague, and to top it all off had ears that hurt, had to go back to the doctor for the third time.

In three days.

At least she got a script for something to help with the rash.

Thursday OP still had a fever and the rash. Her fingers and toes had turned blue, but her oxygen levels were fine she just had to suffer the injustice of the oxygen clip on her finger a couple times which of course she did not like.

By Friday, she looked like this:

Much better, no? Her fever was gone and she was a happy little camper. Until Monday when she had a follow-up appointment. If I had my way, she’d be away from doctors for a while because it is so traumatic, but she needs to do it and eventually it will get better. We are thinking of buying her a stethoscope to play with so maybe that part will be a little more fun.

Pattern: Sheldon
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport
Needles: US 2

When the Husband and the Sister-in-Law were young, they had a turtle. At least, I think she had the turtle and he just resided in the house with said turtle. They liked the turtle very much, but one day, the turtle climbed out of his cage and onto the table whereupon he fell onto the floor. His shell had cracked and the family took him to the doctor where they used superglue on the shell, but to no avail. The little guy did not make it.

So, when I asked the Husband which of the dozen of patterns I liked should we make for the Sister-in-Law’s little daughter, he said, “The turtle.” And thus, Sheldon was born. As was an adorable little girl.

This was both an easy pattern and an extremely complex one. If you are thinking about making a Sheldon, do it. You won’t regret it. Just trust in the pattern. I didn’t trust in the pattern and ripped out areas only to realize that I should have kept them. In the end, I think it turned out well regardless. There’s a LOT of steps and I’m not sure I ever want to make it again. Of course, much like childbirth and the first few weeks with a newborn, I suspect I will forget the pain and suffering after a few years.

To see more Sheldon photos…

Sheldon’s a Jet’s fan.

One year ago today at 11:04, you changed our lives.