Scabies Scare 08

Back in the end of July the first part of August Landry had a rash on the back of her legs that would not clear up. We tried everything. We were supposed to be going to Bear Lake for our annual trip with my family. We LOVE going to Bear Lake - I look forward to this trip every summer and Landry could hardly wait - 4 days of playing with her cousins! We were to meet there on Sunday. On Friday night Landry was itching her legs like crazy so I decided that I had better take her in on Saturday just to be 'safe'. Boy were we in for a surprise. We did not get to see her regular Doctor since it was a Saturday. We got the guy who was on call - BIG MISTAKE! To make a long story short he diagnosed her with Scabies. Yes, Scabies - it's a mite that gets up under the skin and lays eggs. SICK! He said she could have gotten it anywhere and that it was HIGHLY contagious and that we should keep her home and away from people until it cleared up. We got a Rx that was supposed to kill the mite after one treatment, we were to strip all the beds and wash them in the hottest water possible, wash all our clothes in the hottest water possible and let everyone know who we had been in contact with. So, we didn't go to Bear Lake, called her Pre-School, called all the neighbors and friends and then quarantined ourselves for the next week. Well after a few days it still wasn't clearing up so I scheduled an appointment with her Doctor and go figure - it wasn't really scabies. She referred us to a Dermatologist and she actually has Acute Dermatitis, a low form of Eczema! Was I mad - you have no idea! First of all we missed our trip, it was absolutely mortifying to call everyone and tell them and then call them again and say Ooops, sorry! One of our friends even ended up taking her newborn in because he got a rash on his stomach. Not to mention cleaning my house from top to bottom with Clorox wipes and Lysol disinfectant.

I did learn a valuable lesson from this. Trust your instincts! I wasn't totally convinced that this Doctor knew what he was talking about. It just seemed so weird! I'm glad I took her in and got a second opinion. The rash cleared up within a week of seeing the Dermatologist!

5th Birthday

Landry celebrated her 5th birthday August 18th. She was beyond excited because 5 means Kindergarten! We celebrated her birthday a couple of times. Her Grandma and Grandpa Hunter came the day before and she got to open their present a day early. Grandpa Hunter always has a trick up his sleeve and he had left her clues where to find it. She was a little disappointed when Jeff and I didn't do that for her too! Jeff and I celebrated with her on the actual day and then she had a party with her friends the following Saturday. She wanted a Barbie cake and although I'm no Betty Crocker I made her one. It turned out pretty good. Although now when I look at it the swirls look like the number six - oh well. Landry was quite pleased with it. She even got flowers and balloons delivered to her from a lady that I work with. Spoiled? - Absolutely!

She was determined to have a Giselle/Enchanted party with her friends and I wasn't sure what the heck I was going to do for the boys at a Princess Party. They played Pin the Crown on Giselle, had a water race, and broke the Giselle pinata. The girls got tierras and wands and the boys got crowns and swords. It turned out to be a successful party and the boys didn't seem to mind that it was a bit girly!

The First Day of School....UGHHH

Landry started Kindergarten this year and she was so excited. I wish I could say the same for Mom. The first day was a day of mixed emotions. I was excited for her but so sad to see my little girl going into that big school. It made my heart ache watching her go. I swear that backpack is bigger than her. I was proud of myself for not crying until I got to the car. Then poor Jeff had to deal with me! Even though he wasn't a weeping idiot like his wife I think Dad was pretty sad to see her go too. I am thankful that she was excited to go and that she wasn't crying when we left her there - that would have been much worse. I am also so grateful that her friends Carson and Nicholas are in her class. I think it's hilarious that even in Kindergarten you learn that the opposite sex is 'gross'. She tells me that the girls don't play with the boys at recess but that she still loves Carson!

It has been really fun to watch her do her 'homework' - she just loves it. I hope we can keep that up for a couple of years. She is just starting to read and that is so great. She gets a new book every night and she thinks its pretty neat that she gets to read to Mom before bedtime now. One of her homework assignments was to separate different colors or shapes into a muffin tin. So we got out all the cereal and mixed it up and let her sort it. Once that was done what else could she do but pour a little milk on it and eat it? She thought that was so fun and couldn't understand why I didn't let her do that every morning.

The last few weeks....

The last couple of weeks have been, hmmm, shall we say different. I got myself involved in delivery phone books - WHAT? Yeah, that was pretty interesting. I figured as long as I was out walking I might as well make some money doing it. I only had one dog scare and saw some guy in his underwear. Word of advice - if you are going outside you should put on SOME clothes. Anyway, the worst was the day it was lightly raining and I locked my keys in the car along with the cell phone. It was early in the morning and I was not in a neighborhood where I knew anyone so I had to walk home about 2 miles and of course that was when it really started to rain. By the time I got home I was soaked. Other than that it was pretty painless, good exercise and easy money!

The worst part of the last two weeks would be me forgetting to pick Landry up at dance. Yep - Mother of the Year - right here! When I finally got there she was sitting patiently watching another dance class. As soon as she saw me she burst into tears and then of course I started bawling too. I felt so horrible, what a terrible thing to do. This will just be one more thing to add to her therapy sessions in adulthood!

The best part of the last couple of weeks was being able to go home for a visit. I always enjoy it when I get to spend some time with my family. Unfortunately Jeff had to stay in Logan to work but Landry and I went and we were able to go see my nephew Garrett play football, celebrate my brother McKay and sister-in-law Ashley's birthdays and watch the Cowboys lose to the Redskins - that part wasn't so much fun. Landry loves anytime that she gets to be spoiled by her grandparents and to play with her cousins. It was a great weekend.

Riding the lawn mower with Grandpa

Landry and Paityn doing what they love the most - Playing dress up.

Dark Vader

Landry went to her buddy Carson's Star Wars birthday party the other day. I'm not sure she even knew who Darth Vader was before the party but she did by the time it was over. Although she kept calling him Dark Vader - oh well. I had to post these pictures because my friend Jayme came up with this stinkin' cute idea. She made all of the kids Darth Vader costumes! It was so cute - I would never have been able to come up with something like that. She cut smocks out of black fabric, made them each a belt and then the light saber was a water noodle - Brilliant! I'm so bad at coming up with stuff like that. Landry wore her costume nonstop for the next week. She loved it because she could take off the mask and play Karate or put the mask on and be Dark Vader. In fact that was how I was awakened on Sunday morning - with a tap from the light saber and opening my eyes to Darth Vader 2 inches from my face!

Lagoon

A couple weeks ago we went to Lagoon with my brother and sister-in-law and their daughter Paityn. We had so much fun - especially the girls. We took the girls on almost all of the little kid rides and then we decided to go on the Tidal Wave. Even though Landry and Paityn met the height requirement that was a really BAD idea. It scared Landry to death - she screamed the entire time. What on earth was I thinking? I felt like the worst mother getting off of that ride. She was bawling and I felt like everyone was staring at us and shaking their heads in disgust! The rest of the day she didn't want to go on any ride that was too fast or went too high. I felt so bad. The good news is that there aren't very many kid rides that go fast or high so she did enjoy the rest of the day. After hours of rides we went to Lagoona Beach. The girls thought that was great fun and even the parents were able to go down a few slides. We didn't leave until almost 9 o' clock that night. Needless to say everyone was tired. The next day we did a little shopping and then took Landry to see Space Chimps. I'm embarrassed to even admit that! She loved it though. Jeff said you can certainly tell what phase of life we are in when everyone else is lining up to go see Batman and we were heading to see Space Chimps!

Iowa Visitors

A couple weeks ago my good friend Dixie was in Utah visiting. I was so glad that she could come and stay with us - even if it was only for one night. Landry and her girls, Gracie and Delaney were instant friends. We took the girls to see a movie, did a little shopping and went out for dinner. The girls had so much fun playing together. Even after we put them to bed the slumber party went on for another hour or so. Landry was so sad to see her new friends leave. It was great to be able to visit and catch up. I love that whenever we get to see each other, even if we haven't seen each other for a couple of years, we can always pick up right where we left off. I love ya Dix!