Much ado about nothing

Wondering where I’ve been? Oh, I’ve been busy. Very, very busy. Max has been in the emergency room twice in the past three days (although for things that were less ’emergencies,’ per se, than urgent/acute conditions) and I am exhausted. Exhausted!

We took him in on Sunday night because he was feverish and coughing, lethargic, breathing rapidly…it looked bad. However, after slogging through the emergency procedures for four hours (they get to you less quickly if your life isn’t in danger: great for those who are having heart attacks and such, but it’s so frustrating when all you need is ten minutes of a doctor’s time and it takes four hours) we were told that it was an upper respiratory infection. (Translation: he has a cough) Go home, they said. Treat the symptoms. Lovely. Max, he hates the Robitussin.

So yesterday – joy, joy – the fever disappeared, his energy returned, and Max started getting back into trouble as usual.

This morning, he woke up covered in spots.

Spots?

Yeeees. Spots. Actually, some spots, some blotches. All over. All OVER! Covered in giant red blotchy spots. Oh, dear. Greg had already left for work. I had to call him, get him to come home so we could go to the hospital, and then I spent all day in the emergency room. Again. I am so tired. And once again, after spending five hours in the ER (although we got a lot more attention this time – apparently a toddler covered in spots is more interesting than the same toddler with a fever and cough) we were told that the rash was viral, and no big deal. (Translation: his cough gave him a rash.) What the $%&*#*(%+@!?!? I have never seen a cough turn someone into a freaking dalmation! Then it took over an hour to get a bottle of baby benadryl from the pharmacy. Should have just gone to Walmart or something.

So, to sum up: I have spent over 11 hours in and around the hospital in the last three days, when I could just as easily have stayed home, and Max would have been fine. Of course, I felt better when I was told that the (very alarming) rash was harmless, and when they assured me the cough was not pneumonia. (Hey, I didn’t ask – he just had possible symptoms, so they checked for it. I’m not paranoid. Most of the time.) I guess it’s a price that must be paid to be a mom. *sigh*

On a craft related note, if you’re wondering what on earth I was doing all last week, I have this to say.

Why did I assume that I could simply sit down and design a pair of socks – in knit (my area of lesser competency), no less? Hubris, I suppose; pure hubris. But I have been duly chastened by the knitting goddess, and when next I approach socks I will be equipped with a pattern, proper humility, and a set of DPNs. *sigh*

All of this wasting time and getting distracted by other things has thrown my crochet designing behind schedule. I doubt you’ll see a pattern from me in the next Crochetme – though I’m shooting for the mid-issue – but I’m working on it. Things are going very, very well, too – which simply proves again that the crocheting goddess just loves me more. My mystery pattern will feature (get ready, now) a variety of sizes. Don’t get too excited, though! It’s something very small, but it represents a new era in my pattern possibilities. Yay for me!

So – um, I think I’m going to bed early.