Oh Well

So much for that NoJoMo thing. Missed a couple days.

Life got in the way. It does that.

The weekend in Vermont was overall pretty good. The girls had a couple rough spots with missing Daddy and their own beds, but had a lot of fun running Muppet and Grumpy ragged all over the house. I lobbied for getting rid of the bed that’s in their room so they can have a space that’s friendlier for them with a bunk bed and some cute curtains and linens.

I asked them straight out why they don’t want to get rid of the rope bed and their answer was just that they didn’t. As far as I’m aware, there’s no sentimental attachment to it. My great-grandfather was an antique collector, particularly early Americana, so 95% of the pieces they have don’t have any real family history. These aren’t family heirlooms that have been passed down generation to generation. I know my grandparents slept on it when they lived with my great-grandparents after they got married. And my grandmother HATED the damn thing. I think he’s just pissy that no one jumped up and down to get it when he put out feelers about selling it before. He’s had everything appraised, but appraisals only estimate based on the current auction climate.

I’ve wondered for a while if my dad’s memory is going. I didn’t know it because he died before I was born, but his grandfather had pretty severe dementia. I also know that when he had a concussion last winter the scans showed “something,” but he doesn’t want to talk about it because he’s “not having symptoms.” I suspect plaques indicative of Alzheimer’s. It’s something he’s always hated the thought of. But I’ve had my suspicions a while now.

We headed home on Sunday afternoon and roughly five minutes into the car ride, Pippa announced that she was going to throw up. I tried to get to her fast enough, but the best I could do was clean up afterward. It was pretty bad. If my parents had a washer and dryer, I would’ve turned the car right around and stayed another day. But getting everyone clean and happy was going to be best achieved at home. I put her in her pj’s from the night before, put a puppy pad down on her seat, wrapped what I could in the little plastic bags I had with me, and gave her one just in case she needed to throw up again. Which she did another 6 or 7 times on the way home. We pulled over a lot. Fortunately she made it into the bags the rest of the time. And the drive home is mostly on country surface roads, not large highways, so pulling over was not a daunting prospect mostly. Nice wide shoulders, and in one case the parking lot of a little league field with a dumpster. And by some miracle no vomit got on the car’s upholstery, so once all the dirty stuff was out of the car, the smell was gone too. I still disinfected all the surfaces and aired it out a bit today though. The straps of her car seat may very well be done for though. Everything else is cleaned, but there’s definitely still a smell on the straps. A friend suggested coating it in baking soda for a day or two. Apparently her son gets carsick on the regular, poor thing. I’ll try that next, but I’ve still ordered a replacement harness from the manufacturer. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have the extra anyway, in case it happens again.

After a couple more upsets at home and nice bath, Pippa seems to be on the mend. She had to stay home from school today, which she wasn’t very happy about. And Anika had to miss dance class, which she hasn’t realized yet because the whole situation is so out of the routine what with an extra weekend day on Friday and going up to Vermont. I’ve already arranged for her to make up the class on Thursday, so hopefully she won’t be too upset. And hopefully she won’t get this tummy bug either.

~Liz