The Settlers of Catan

My little bro J and his girlfriend W introduced us to Settlers of Catan. If Monopoly and Risk got married and had children, this game is what their offspring would be. Its kind of hard to understand at first and it is going to take a while to get a strategy down, but it is a fun game. J (husband) bought me my very own Settlers game for Mother's Day. He has to go to San Fran on business, so he gave me the game early. Now we just need to find someone to play with us. I need to practice so I can give W a run for her money. She kicked our butts last time. I found some kid's website today that lists different strategies and hints for the game. Even though I feel like a total nerd, I am going to read all he has to say so I can become a Settlers champion. Watch out W ~ here I come.

Fevers are L-A-M-E

C was fine yesterday. More than fine - she was great! We had an awesome day. Around midnight last night she woke up with a high fever. I was at a primary meeting (yes, at midnight) so I raced home. C was bawling and J was trying to get her to take some Motrin. There are just some things that Moms can do better. Her fever was still there this morning. We called the Doc and made an appt. Normally, I would just deal with the fever, but I could not get this fever to go down at all - even after taking Motrin and Tylenol. J took her to the doc a bit ago. I expect to hear from him anytime.

Uncool Update - J just called. They did a strep test on C. It came back negative, BUT she has a really red and raw throat. Doc thinks its a "virus." I hate that. There is nothing we can do but keep liquids in her and keep switching between Motrin and Tylenol every 4 hours. I've got to try and keep her away from F as much as I can. *Sigh.

Totally Awesome Nail Update

Its been 17 days since i stopped biting my fingernails. I bought some Sally Hansen stuff that is supposed to make them stronger. I think they look pretty darn good, especially compared to what they looked like a few weeks ago. Right, J???????

Bad Habits Die Hard

Well, its been over a week since i stopped biting my fingernails. I have been a chronic nail-biter ever since I can remember. J hates it, so i'm trying my hardest to stop. I went to the store and bought some topcoat stuff that is supposed to make your nails stronger and grow faster. Its weird to have long nails. I can't type as good. I can't do my zipper up on my pants w/o making a total effort to not break a nail. I can't stick the swiffer wetpad into the swiffer broom thing. I never knew that having long nails would get in the way so much. Oh well - they look much nicer. My goal is to get all of them the same length and then do a french manicure. We'll see. Long nails are just not that practical.

Night Terrors

That's what we've been dealing with the last couple weeks. C was about 18 months old the first time she got one. They come randomly. She usually has a few every month, but for some reason, she has had one every single night, sometimes a couple times a night, for the past 2 weeks. It is so heartbreaking. For anyone that isn't familiar with night terrors, here is an explanation. This is taken from www.nightterrors.org:

Confusional arousals (or night terrors) often occur in infants and toddlers, but may also be seen in adults.These episodes may begin with a person crying and thrashing around in bed. The individual may appear awake, confused and upset, yet resists attempts by others to comfort or console. It is also difficult to awaken a person having a parasomnia. The episodes may last up to half an hour and usually end with the person calming, waking briefly, and then only wanting to return to sleep.

For C, her night terrors usually happen around midnight. She starts screaming and crying for me. J and I will go in and she is usually sitting up in bed, with her eyes wide open. I will try to comfort her, but she pushes me away and yells for her mother. It is totally upsetting. I feel so bad that she doesn't recognize J or I. I can tell she is panicked and really scared. It will last for up to 45 minutes. The last few times we have taken her downstairs, turned the lights on, turned the tv on (thank goodness for Barney dvds) to help her wake up. Once she is awake, she wants to be cuddled a bit, but most of all, she wants to go back to bed. She never remembers anything the following morning.

The more I have read about night terrors, the more I am beginning to understand that they can be brought on by many things. Stress, a change in schedule, change in surroundings, being over-tired. C is experiencing all of that. She has a new brother, she has stopped taking naps and we just moved. Also, sleep disorders are hereditary. Sleep-walking, sleep-talking and night terrors are all considered sleep disorders and I am the queen of sleep-walking and sleep-talking. I haven't slept-walked for a long time, but when I do, its awful. I always talk in my sleep. I think I passed my crazy sleep situation on to C.

I have talked to her pediatrician a few times this week about her night terror episodes. We have ruled out a lot of potential causes. The doc told me to stick to C's nighttime schedule every single night and filter EVERYTHING that C comes in contact with: audio, visual, etc. If the night terrors don't start getting better soon, the doc will refer me to a specialist.

In my heart, I really think that the night terrors are just a phase she is going through and having a very over-active, inquisitive imagination. I am so grateful that she doesn't remember them the morning after.

Last night was the first night in 2 weeks that she didn't wake up screaming. I'm sure my neighbors are happy. I hope we're starting a new trend here. I am keeping my fingers crossed for tonight.

Just because this is interesting - here are some different culture's explanations for night terrors. This is also taken from www.nightterrors.org:

• Ancestral ghosts - Southeast Asians
• Hag - Irish and Scottish
• Cats - Chinese
• Spectral foxes - Japanese
• Djinn - Arabs
• Guilt - Romans and the Egyptians
• Witchcraft - Mexicans
• Vampires - Europeans
• Demons - Medieval Europe

I'm super glad to know that Vampires and Spectral Foxes are not the reason for C's night terrors. I think if my parents tried to tell me the reason I slept-walked was because of Ancestral Ghosts or Demons, I would never want to sleep again. Scary!

F's First Laugh

I guess its fitting that F's first laugh should be on April Fool's Day. I am so happy I got it on camera. I was lucky enough to get C's first laugh on camera too. Hey - just for kicks, I'll put C's first laugh on too. F's video is the one where I'm saying "best buddy" and C's video is when I'm playing peek-a-boo. They are both right around 3 months old. Its hard to tell which is which, since both are only wearing diapers in the videos.

Staying Busy

I don't care if it's still snowing here. I am pretending that spring is in full swing. C has cabin fever and so do I. I haven't really been anywhere since F was born. Now that he is getting bigger and the flu/rsv season is coming to a close, I want to get out! C has ballet every tuesday morning and I just signed her up for swimming lessons every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. We also have a play group Wednesday morning. But her favorite activity? Swinging on the swing at J&A M's house. Its the greatest kid swing hanging from a great old tree in their front yard. This is big news for us since she has NEVER dared to even sit on a swing, let alone be buckled in and pushed. The last few snowy days have been terrible for C because we haven't been able to ride her bike up to to her beloved swing. This weekend is supposed to be a bit warmer. We'll see. I've given up hope that spring will ever truly be here. I have a short-sleeved shirt and capris on. Its only 40 degrees today . . . . . I'm in denial.