Vitamin D is Good for the Soul

What an amazing day! We had a family day today, and spent as much time outside in the sun as possible! It was gorgeous out, and we didn't want to waste a second of the sun! We went to Paneras for lunch, and Sophie gobbled up everything in sight, as Jack munched, and watched everyone around him. Then we went to the park. The first place we went was really nice, with lots of walkways, castles, and fun things for the kids to do. Alas, our kids are too young, so after a few quick photos we decided to leave. We went to a different park, and it was much quieter and more relaxed. The kids played on the playground for awhile, going down slides, climbing up the play structures, and walking around. Then, we loaded them up in the double, and took them for a walk. We let them out on a soccer field, and watched them run all over. They loved the openess and freeness of being able to go wherever they wanted. Last, we went to the dog park to watch the dogs. The kids got to pet a few of the little dogs that came up to the fence. Then we were lucky enough to meet a golden retriever named "Maggie." She was very gentle, and let the kids pet her. Next, we went to watch the big dogs. None of them came that close to the fence, and I think Matt and I were fairly happy about that. They were well, scary, for lack of a better word. The kids were happy to just watch, and play in the grass. We loaded the kids back up in the stroller, and by the time we got to the car, they were just about asleep. So much fun, and so nice to be able to spend a peaceful, blessed day together.

*CAUTION: Picture Overload!*

Totally exhausted after a fun day outside. They like to sleep close to each other.

Go ahead and laugh. I won't be mad.

I'm sure by the end of this story you will be laughing at me. It's OK, because in most situations, you can laugh at yourself, or cry. I am choosing to laugh this time. Yesterday morning, Sophie woke up, and had lots of clear stringy things in her diaper. I didn't think anything of it, and chalked it up to the fact that I had switched to a package of Huggies that we had(instead of the normal Pampers). Sometimes diapers leave wierd things on babies' skin, so I just assumed it was this. When I saw it again later, I panicked. It looked a lot like tiny, little, clear worms. But dead worms, because they weren't moving. I called the Pediatritions, and they said it could be pinworms, which is a common childhood illness. It's sorta like lice. Sometimes there are outbreaks among kids. She told us to do this check by shining a flashlight in Sophie's diaper area at night, because that is when they "come out." Ok, ew. EW, EW, EW! At this point, my sking started to crawl, but I wasn't convinced, and had the nurse set us up with an appointment for today. I called Matt on the phone sobbing out of worry for Sophie. I called my mom, because I knew she would calm me down. I had visions of strange worms in her belly, and places where she could have gotten them. I was worried. We did the "worm check" last night and there was nothing, this morning, nothing. I had saved the diaper from yesterday, but figured that the doctor probably wouldn't have wanted to deal with a day old diaper, so I put some of the little "worms" in a baggy. They looked suspiciouly like something else. I'm sure some of you can guess where this is going. The Doctor took one look at them and said they weren't worms. He wasn't sure what it was, but then I said maybe elastic, and he stretched one, and said that yes, it did look like that. Then he said, "Wow, she must have eaten a lot of it. How did she do that?" At this point I wanted to hide my face in shame. What kind of a mother lets her seventeen month old eat handfulls of elastic???? Where was I while she consumed this delectable substance? So, in light of everything that has happened, and all the stress I felt from imagining Sophie with huge African worms inside of her, I am choosing to laugh at myself. And to catalog it away for the grandkids. Because really, what else could I do?