Saturday, August 27, 2011

A week that I am glad to be done with…

Ashley’s birthday was a good day, although rather disappointing.  No one who said they were coming actually showed up to Ashley’s birthday party, so it was almost a complete disaster.  The day was saved when my sister-in-law came with Kay, so at least the girls had some fun playing together.  Ashley was clingy by the end of the night, so I let her sleep with me.  I didn’t think too much of it when she woke up at 3 am, whimpering and overly warm.  She asked me to take her up to her bed, which I did and she was back asleep instantly.  She woke up crying at 5 am, and then again at 7 am when it finally computed that she was feverish.  I gave her some Motrin and water in a sippy cup before she fell asleep again.

I was wide awake by the time I had rocked my poor baby to sleep at 7 am, but I still decided to lie down awhile as I figured this was not going to be a great day.  We had a wedding shower for my cousin at 1 pm, and I felt comfortable enough leaving Ashley with my dad since she ate breakfast and had been playing all morning.  Around 3:30 I got the call from my dad.  Ashley was whimpering on the couch and she didn’t want to play, watch her movie, or even get up.  It was about this point when we wished I had driven up separately, but we said our goodbyes and rushed home to my baby girl.  I convinced my mom to drop me off at the house first before taking Carol home because I had a feeling that I was needed as soon as possible.  Upon entering the house, I kicked off my flip flops and ran downstairs to get Ashley and she cried plaintively when she saw me.  I changed her diaper and I brought her upstairs so I could give her some Tylenol.  Just as I was reaching into the cabinet for the bottle, she threw up on me. 

I rushed her back into the bathroom downstairs and stood her at the toilet to finish emptying her stomach while I rubbed her back.  I had been home less than 10 minutes by this time.  I quickly stripped off my shirt while thanking my lucky stars I habitually wear layers, and I asked my mom to get a bucket full of warm water for me.  When Ashley was done, I carefully rolled her shirt up to keep the mess contained and moved her into my shower stall.  I sat her on a little plastic stool and used the bucket of warm water and some bath soap to get her cleaned up.  For the first time in weeks she left her hair in the pigtails I had put in that morning which made the cleanup step so much faster.  By the time her wails and sobs had subsided to shivering whimpers I was wrapping her up in one of my fluffy bath towels.  I put her in a new diaper and loose-fitting button down dress and cuddled her in her cobija with her cachorrito, puppy.  After about 30 minutes I brushed her teeth and I gave her a few crackers with some water and a dose of Tylenol.  After another 45 minutes when she had been playing and showing no additional symptoms, I let her have some more crackers.  We spent the rest of the evening playing Marble Race and Elefun instead of going to the birthday party of my niece Magdalena.  Ashley would have had fun at the fiesta, pero ni modo.

I didn’t know what to expect on Monday, so I was relieved when I woke Ashley up and there were no signs of a fever.  I took her to Gisela’s for the day and asked her to call me if she got sick or was too much for her to handle.  Ashley latched onto my leg as I was trying to leave and refused to let go.  I could feel the heat pouring off of her through my pant leg, so we gave her Tylenol before I left.  I called to check on her during my lunch break and Gisela said she was not herself at all.  The girl who is never still was lying on the couch passively watching cartoons, but since she ate and had not gotten sick afterwards I concluded she was just exhausted.  I left work at 4 like I do every Monday, and I was satisfied with her appearance enough to not cancel the visit to Alberto.  Gisela had given her Tylenol 45 minutes before I came to the house, so Ashley should have been able to hold out during a visit.  I had Anita and Magdalena accompanying us to see their uncle, so I was hoping they could help me distract Ashley for the duration.  I would say it took all of 5 minutes for Alberto to realize his darling daughter was not well, and he apologized later that night for not believing me when I said we didn’t go to the party because she was sick.  He knows I don’t particularly like going to the family events without him, so he was miffed when I stayed home on Sunday.  He expressed his displeasure by hanging up on me.  I try not to take it personally since I know being locked up has affected him in ways he doesn’t see, but sometimes it is really hard to deal with.  He knows that if I could have, I would have called him on Saturday night or early Sunday morning because I was worried about our baby girl.  I love being able to see him regularly, but I hate not being able to call him when I need to hear his voice.

Monday was also the day I was officially hired by the non-profit I had been working for as a seasonal employee since March.  The permanent position came with a raise and benefits which will start in October.  This is so exciting!  I love being able to work for a company with a conscious and a cause.  This is so much better than other places I have worked because I get to go home each day feeling like I made a difference instead of feeling dirty or dishonest.  I have nothing against lawyers really; it’s their choice how they run their business and what clients they take on, but I do know it’s not for me.  I am about as adept at lying as Pinocchio is, only I don’t know how I give myself away every single time.  This is why I asked Brian, our criminal defense attorney, not to put me in the position of lying ever again.

By Wednesday Ashley was on the mend and getting back to normal.  I started fretting about getting her potty-trained on time so she could start preschool in September.  Mi bebita is going to preschool!  I still need to go to the store and get her supplies which are mostly for the classroom at this age but we need to do our part.

I think this is probably enough for today, but I’m sure I’ll get around to writing up the rest of it tomorrow.


Insanity is hereditary: You can get it from your children.
Sam Levinson


Ciao


Interesting Spanish words/phrases from this post:
Cobija:                             Blanket (or Blankey)
Cachorrito:                       Little puppy (cachorro is puppy)
Fiesta:                                       Party
Pero:                                But
Ni modo:                          A verbal shrug, what can you do (Literally ‘no way’)
Mi:                                  My
Bebita:                            Little baby girl  (bebe is baby)

Spanish speakers frequently use the diminutive suffixes such as -ito not only to indicate size but also to make a word less harsh or to indicate affection. Just as you can imagine someone referring to a 6-foot-tall adult son as "my little boy" or to a full-grown beloved pet as a "doggy," so it is that the Spanish diminutives, although often translated using the English word "little," often indicate more about the speaker's feelings toward the person or object than to its size.    SOURCE: Spanish Diminutives

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