One Child Home Sick

Juliana came home sniffly and whiny yesterday, with a sore throat. She suddenly looked tired, and was eager to get to bed. She woke frequently last night, which lately has been odd for her. This morning, we couldn't get her out of bed, and she had dark circles around her eyes. She's a bit pale too. She's in a good mood, but just not feeling well, and very warm to the touch so I kept her home from school. I'd love for her to rest and nap, but her sisters aren't allowing it. I even gave her some cold medicine hoping it would knock her out. No luck.

I've been trying to find pediatric orthopaedic surgeon's to consult on Anneliese's pigeon toe, and I finally found a group in the CT Children's Medical Center, but they take forever to call back. I just called at 11:30 am, and there's an outgoing message that they're out to lunch until 1:30. WTH? Who gets a 2-hour lunch break in the U.S.? I even sent a request through e-mail that they call me ASAP. Short story: when Anneliese started walking at 12 months, we noticed some in-toeing. Her pediatrician examined her, and said it wasn't due to any deformities in her bones, and that it would most likely resolve itself by 2 yrs old. Now, at 19 months, her left foot has improved a bit, but her right foot is still just as bad. If I let her go barefoot to the point that her feet get dirty, there's a clear difference in the pattern on the bottoms of her feet. Her left foot has dirt marks where you'd expect, but her right foot has the pattern mostly and HEAVILY on the outer bottom side. Plus, the dirt on the right foot is almost always darker than on the left foot. It doesn't seem to be affecting her ability to walk or climb or do anything physical, but it's noticable. Actually, she does have a little more trouble when she's wearing shoes. She really needs to feel the ground when she's walking. She trips more with shoes on, and her right shoes are always falling off.

And suddenly, I seem to have a cough in my lungs, although it's not severe. Just annoying. I thought I was done being sick. Grace was also complaining of a sore throat and headache as soon as she woke up this morning, so she got a dose of Tylenol and seems fine, if not a bit low-key today. My problem child is the miniature one, who seems to think that toilet water is indeed eu de toilette. Yes, she sticks her hands in the toilet, then looks me in the eye and wipes the water all over her face. Blech. She also has some sick fascination with the plunger, which is more than just decoration in our house. She tries to plunge our toilet and escape around the house with the darn thing. Ugh, it gives me shivers just thinking about it. I've taken to regularly sterilizing the plunger, but it's still revolting. Yes, I keep the door closed as much as possible, but the little stinker sneaks in when her sisters forget to close the door. She has also figured out that if she simply asks "I pee? I da potty?" that I'll let her sit on the toilet. While she's there, she looks for anything in reach to grab. Silly girl.