My Experiences as a Father... December 5, 2003 to January 4, 2004 (56th month)

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Thursday, January 1, 2004 - New Year's Day
We went to Marianne's today with Jeanne.  Yesterday I had put the plugs in the pool return lines.  I had to stick my hand in the water and tighten the bolt.  I told Maeve that the cold water made my hand hurt and she asked why.  I didn't know, but I said that Marianne would probably know.  We asked and she said it was because the cold water causes the blood vessels to constrict, and that cuts off the blood/oxygen supply to the nerve endings.  When the nerves get hypoxic, there is a sensation of pain.
 

Monday, December 29, 2003
Maeve has some small red dots around her eyes yesterday.  Some training in my past made the term "petechiae" come to my mind when I saw them.  Last night I didn't do too well finding a picture of petechiae in the books I had.  Today Jill called, said the dots were still there and asked if I was concerned.  I searched online and found, "Rarely, but not uncommonly, children can develop petechiae in a periorbital and sometimes superior vena caval distribution following bouts of vigorous coughing or vomiting."  We had noticed them the morning after Maeve vomited, and they were only around her eyes.

Of course, petechiae are also associated with meningitis.  Maeve has had a fever (and a cold), but has not demonstrated any other symptoms, such as chills, sore throat, headache, malaise, aches, neck stiffness, more generalized petechiae, or progression to purpura.

The final word was had by Maeve.  Jill consulted with Maeve, asking, "Do you think you have meningitis?"  Maeve said no.
 

Sunday, December 28, 2003
I had some work to do on the computer.  Jill asked me to come up in 20 minutes.  It was a little closer to an hour and a half when I came up.  She accused me of having gotten sucked into the computer.  Hilde heard that and said, "Dad got sucked into the computer?"  Jill had to explain exactly what she meant.
 

Friday, December 26, 2003
I signed Maeve up for the Philip Morris USA Youth Smoking Prevention mailing list.  I was reading the newsletter to her and it said, "Studies have shown that kids whose friends smoke are nine times more likely to try smoking than kids whose friends don't."  I asked Maeve, "Do any of your friends smoke?"  She said they didn't, and I explained how that made her less likely to smoke.  Hopefully that will last.
 

Thursday, December 25, 2003 - Christmas
This year it was just our family for Christmas.  After dinner we went to the LaSalette Shrine to see the lights.
 

Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - Christmas Eve
We went early to the Christmas Eve service at church, because it usually gets overfilled.  We arrived early enough to get a seat right up front, and Hilde got a short nap before the service.

Maeve was sitting next to me, and I let her hold her own candle.  Later Jill said she thought Maeve was too young, but it worked out just fine.  Maeve did everything just like I had explained it to her.  She tipped her unlit candle into my lit candle, and then held hers straight up and away from any flammable clothing or hair.
 

Tuesday, December 23, 2003
The annual showing of "A Year Without Santa Claus" came and Jill said to Maeve, "Oh, that's so sad, to have a year without Santa Claus."  Maeve replied, "It's a good thing he's not real."
 

Monday, December 22, 2003
Maeve and Jill were discussing amniotic fluid today.  We recently started getting the Discovery Health channel again, so we had seen some baby deliveries in the last few days.  Maeve said the amniotic fluid "looked like boogies".  I got a couple books and we looked it up.  One book also had a good diagram of amniocentesis, so we talked about that.  I like having a four-year-old who is asking questions that most people twice her age don't even have enough knowledge to consider, and eagerly listening to the answers.
 

Sunday, December 21, 2003
Hilde got a petticoat to go with a Christmas dress that Jill bought.  When she put it on, it was so white and billowy that I said she looked like a ghost.  I asked her to put her hands in the air and moan like a ghost.  She was pretty convincing.  She ran through the house making ghost noises, and then game over to poke me.  I was screaming, "Get away from me ghost!  Help!  A ghost is after me!"
 

Saturday, December 20, 2003
We went out to a buffet dinner tonight.  I said I was tired, and that Maeve had no yogurt to put in my pockets if I fell asleep at the table.  She said she would use her watermelon.  I said that I would just wait until she finished her watermelon.  She leaned over and whispered, "Then I'll just ask Mom to get more."
 

Friday, December 19, 2003
Jill wanted to clean out the playroom a little, but Maeve and Hilde always complain when Jill suggests giving away toys they haven't even seen in months.

I said I could send Maeve to her room "to hide" while Hilde and I wrapped Maeve's presents in my room.  Then we should send Hilde to her room "to hide" while Maeve and I wrapped Hilde's presents.  That would give Jill time alone to clean the playroom.

Jill said it would ruin the story that Mom and Dad get the presents from Santa.  I asked Maeve if Santa was real.  She said, "No".  I told Jill that ruining the story wasn't going to be an issue.
 

Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Today Maeve was dramatically groaning and saying, "Oh, Dad!" when I said something silly.  I said she sounded like a camel, and that Hilde and I should ride her to preschool.  She groaned again and I had another chance to say that she sounded like a camel.  I felt her back and asked if she knew what that was called.  She didn't, so I said it was her hump.
 

Thursday, December 11, 2003 - Maeve's preschool presentation
Today was Maeve's preschool Christmas presentation.  We were talking about Santa showing up.  She said he always comes in the backdoor.  I asked why he sneaks in the backdoor instead of going in the front door.  She said that even though he was just a guy in a costume (and not really Santa) that he parks his sleigh and reindeer in the woods.  That way the reindeer can go potty if they have to.
 

Friday, December 5, 2003 - DC Vacation
We checked out this morning and stopped at Tyson's Corner on the way to Shirley's house in Leesburg.  Jill wanted to visit a few stores and see the Christmas decorations.

We had lunch at Shirley's house and I got a short nap, until three children woke me up.  We were going to leave for home about 9 PM, but since I was up I thought we should leave then.  Even with rush hour traffic and the start of a large snow storm, we still averaged 50 MPH around DC and through Baltimore.  We stopped when we were almost in Delaware for dinner.  After that there was a lot of snow on the roads in New Jersey and half of Connecticut.  Rhode Island was well plowed, but we got stuck behind a line of plows going 25 MPH that wouldn't let anyone pass.  We averaged only 40 MPH from dinner to home.  The snow kept falling, though, so it is probably a good thing that we left when we left.  As it was, it took 11.5 hours to get home.  If we had waited for more snow to fall it probably would have been worse.  Rhode Island was the only place that looked like they were clearing the snow well.  We never went sideways and didn't slide off the road.  We had 18 inches at home by the time the snowfall stopped.
 


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