HELP

Shelby caught Charlottes puke bug last night at 9pm. Dad caught it at 11pm. We have been fighting over who gets to use the bathroom. Both of us are hurting, mom especially. She has been throwing up all night and so far all day. Dad hasnt thrown up since 7am, although he is fighting it. He was susposed to be flying to New Orleans for work today. Obviously that isnt going to happen. They rescheduled his flight for tomorrow. Hopefully this thing will go through him quickly.

Feel free to send any help you can. We could use it.

Spit up vs. Vomit

Charlotte has the stomach bug. She started getting sick this morning as dad took her out of her crib. At first he thought it might have been just spit up. Then she did it again, and again, and again. Definately not spit up.

This morning dad had plans to take Charlotte grocery shopping so mom could get a little peace and quiet. Charlotte seemed to be acting fine depite her vomiting episode, so he packed his diaper bag and mom fed Charlotte a little breakfast to settle her stomach.

They made it to the grocery store. As soon as dad put Charlotte in the cart, she vomited up her breakfast. She puked a couple of times but then seemed fine. Dad wiped off her sweatshirt and figured he was safe to get some shopping done. He would be quick. He pushed Charlotte around the grocery store at record speed in hopes that he would finish before another puking episode. He made it to the check out line....happy that he got everything he needed. Then it hit. More puke. And more and more and more. All over the cart, all over her, all over dad, all over the floor. He grabbed his puked covered daughter, swooped her out of the cart and ran out of the store. Full grocery cart left behind and all.

Charlotte seems to be feeling fine minus the vomit. No fever. She is not fussy. Just puking.

There are some really big differences between spit up and vomit:
*Spit up is cute. Uusally small amounts of milk. They make "burp cloths" to wipe it up.
*Vomit is gross. Despite how many wet wipes you have or napkins, its usually never enough to contain the puke.
*Spit up doesn't smell too bad. Usually it just smells like milk.
*Vomit stinks and smells like, well vomit. The smell alone can make another person vomit.
*Spit up happens once or twice then its done until the next feeding.
*Vomit can hit at anytime and is usually one wretching episode after another.
*Spit up doesn't make you run out of the grocery store. Vomit does.

On a lighter note, last night mom and dad had a wonderful dinner to celebrate their anniversary. Dad bought mom tons of flowers on friday and put them all over the house. Last night we hired a babysitter and hit the Hanover Street Chop House for an elegant dinner out. Mom really really really loved the Kobe Beef Carpaccio. Who would have ever thought mom would love raw meat? Thank you to Kristy for babysitting.

My first barrette!

















Another shot
















Static electricity in a fort that dad built.
















Whats going on with my hair??
















Happy Valentines Day!
















I love playing with dad!
















Hey, give me that hat dad!
















Learning to do chores early.
















At this pace it will take days to vacuum the whole house!
















I love my goat!!

Happy Birthday Glamma!

It's Glamma's birthday (aka Glamorous).She is probably sleeping late; having a few cups of tea and maybe has an appointment for a manicure and pedicure later today. What a life
No, actually she probably got up when Liam did and is on Liam/Chase duty. She probably changed a few poopy diapers and has spit up on her Pj's. Not a glamorous birthday but one I am sure she is enjoying.
Happy Birthday Glamma. We love you

All is well

Dad has recovered. It was messy but he is now better and about 10 pounds lighter. Knock on wood, neither Shelby nor Charlotte have caught the fever poop bug. Let's hope it skips them.

Oliver and Abigail got new hair cuts yesterday. They look wonderful.

Dad drove 480 miles today to Bangor Maine and back again.

This is the news of the day and week so far. Please be sure you check back tomorrow for some REALLY EXCITING NEWS!!

Of course

Dad cant get sick during the week...it has to be on the weekend when mom is ready to have some spare time. Friday night dad come home not feeling all that great. He ate dinner and quickly got Charlotte into bed. Good thing. About 30 minutes later he was in bed shivering with stomach cramps. So he put on some thermal underwear. Still shivering. Then a sweatshirt. Still shivering. Now the heat was cranked to 70 and he had out the heating pad on high, laying on it under a pile over covers. Still shivering uncontrollably. Mom was still downstairs putting dishes away when he came down yelled at her..."You know you could at least check on me!'....his body shivering beyond belief. Mom now laughing at him because his body was shaking. He grabbed the thermometer. 103.00. He threw back a couple of extra strength Tylenol and headed back upstairs. Mom still laughing. Oh of course he kept telling mom she should be calling the hospital for him because he was coming in! What a mess.

The shivering ended as fast as it came. Suddenly he was boiling. He counted down the time until the Tylenol would kick in. 50 minutes later the fever dropped slightly and he felt hot but at least a little more like a human being. Mom brought him some pedialyte since he was losing fluids (we wont get into that, Im sure you can figure it out).

Its crazy that he is such a baby with a 103 fever...when Charlotte was at 104 she was acting like normal. Sometimes Big People are more like babies than babies are.

Night number two was not much different. He is trying to figure out if he ate some Peter Pan peanut butter or some lettuce that some mexican migrant farm workers pooped on. Then again it could be the Noro virus but he hasnt been on any cruise ships lately. Who knows. Please send chicken soup and clear liquids.

Hours of Fun

Water,Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocmide MEA, Aloe Barbadenis Leaf Juice, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Quaternium-15, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Red 33. Sound like fun? Want to guess what it is? No it is not Play-doh. Not Coffee Heath Bar Ben & Jerrys ice cream. Its one of Charlottes new favorite items that dad is about to throw into the trash.

What is Quaternium 15 anyway? Here is a picture of the chemical structure for you:
I will give you a hint. Like everything else in this world it is a preservative. On top of being a preservative it releases formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is one chemical dad does not like (remember the fight with the pediatrician about giving ANY vaccines to Charlotte that even have trace amounts of formaldehyde)? Its a very common allergen and is also listed as a probable carcinogen by the EPA. It causes proteins to bind to RNA. Formaldehyde is a nasty chemical and unfortunately is made by lots and lots of preservatives in food, cosmetics, and yes folks, even Mr. Bubble, Charlottes new bath time buddy that is about to get poured down the drain.

She loves bubbles. Loves lots of bubbles in the bathtub. But that innocuous pink bottle has the ingredients listed above. Doesn't sound like so much fun when you actually read the ingredients and think about what is in Mr. Bubble. It should be called Mr. Chemical. The funny thing is the front of the bottle says Gentle Formula and Hypo-Allergenic. Folks read the back. Caution, may cause irritations to skin and urinary tract. Hello?? How is this hypo-allergenic. Bastards! My kid just wanted some bubbles in her bathtub. Not some chemical soap that is going to give her a rash and screw up her RNA. Proof that you have to read the back of the lablels. If you dont know what one of the ingredients is, don't buy it. That simple.

Oh and the Tetrasodium EDTA? Well since you asked....Tetrasodium is a slightly toxic and mildly irritating colorless transparent crystalline chemical compound. Common foods containing sodium pyrophosphate include chicken nuggets, marshmallows, crab meat, imitation crab, and soy-based meat alternatives. The EDTA? Well that's not irritating. Its actually given to people who have acute lead and mercury poisoning. Also for those of you scrabble players out there EDTA stands for Ethylenediaminetetraacetates. It is the LONGEST LEGAL Scrabble word (although it is longer than the width of a standard North American Scrabble board).

Yes this is what dad does on a Thursday night. Thanks Mr. Bubble. Have fun meeting Mr. Septic System.

Happy Valentines Day

Dad woke up this morning to smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls...and the wafting scent of coffee brewing. The daily newspaper delivered to him in bed. Charlotte mysteriously quiet. Mom standing next to him in bed with breakfast on a tray. Greeting him warmly with a smile and a kiss. Her apron spotted with flour from baking the cinnamon rolls from scratch. A bouquet of flowers in her other hand.

Suddenly dad heard screaming and crying. The picture perfect Valentines day morning vanished before his eyes.....the dream melting into the darkness of the bedroom. He was dreaming. Now he faced reality. He was still in bed. It was 5:30 am. There was no coffee brewing, no cinnamon buns baking. The only smell that would be wafting his way would be that of Charlotte's dirty diaper rancid from a long night. Reluctantly dad got out of his warm bed....leaving mom sleeping...to go get Charlotte and bring her downstairs begin her morning like every other morning.

He did have some Valentine's cards that both he and Charlotte made for mom. He left them out on the counter for her to see. He made coffee while Charlotte watched the Wiggles in her excersaucer. He poured a cup for mom so it would be ready for her. He let the dogs out into the fresh snow and picked Charlotte up and sat down on the couch with her. She smiled, laughed, and clapped at the show. Talking (more like babbling) about how wonderful the Wiggles were. When he started thinking about it this was a perfect Valentines Day Morning. His two favorite women were happy, healthy, safe, and more importantly with dad.

The snow continued to fall throughout the day. Total so far has been about 12 inches. Luckily dad didn't have to go anywhere today and was at least able to work from home. He made dinner for mom and Charlotte. Mom made desert (Chocolate fondue). In the end he had a wonderful valentines day. One of the best ever.

A weekend to remember

Saturday Jasmine came over bright and early to babysit for the weekend. Mom and dad were beyond excited to have a weekend away in Boston. All of the Quinni Girls (that is Quinnipiac University for those of you who have no idea) were ready to have a blast together at the Boston Wine Expo. Tickets were purchased months ago. The hotel rooms booked months in advance. Lisa, Kelly, Janet, Amy, and even Danielle from NJ made the treck to Boston for the event. Of course us guys the husbands knew what we were in store for with the Quinni stories we have heard over and over again.

The Wine Expo started at 1pm. Thankfully it ended at 5pm. Warning labels should be placed on the glasses that you should SPIT THE WINE OUT after you taste it. At each booth they would take your glass and pour a tiny bit of wine in it. Some booths were more generous than others. But hey, these were just little sips of wine at each booth. It couldn't be that much wine could it? What dad didn't realize was that there were over 440 booths. 440 booths divided by 1 oz at each booth, figuring a regular glass of wine is 6 ounces, equals 73 glasses of wine. Luckily dad didn't hit all 440 booths. But he probably hit about 60 booths. Whites. Reds. Ports. Cordials. Champagnes. Fruit wines. They had it all. At the end, they all tasted the same. Thus going back to the SPIT THE WINE OUT after you taste it idea.

Mom had a great time at dinner with everyone at our favorite restaurant Rabias. After dinner the group meandered over to The Grand Canal for some rip roaring dancing fun.

The next morning we all had breakfast together. Lots of bacon and lots of greasy sausage.

Venting

Last year for us was a little rough for mom with medical issues. To add insult to injury we way over paid our medical bills for last year. In fact they are still billing us even though we hit our maximum out of pocket. So tonight dad calls the insurance company. After an hour on the phone they figure out its the hospitals fault. So dad calls the hospital. After an hour on the phone they figure out its the insurance companies fault. Dad calls the insurance company and then tells them "no, the hospital says it's your fault." Again they look at the records and then say its the hospitals fault. So dad will be taking a day off of work and traveling to the hospital with every single ounce of bill, statement, copy of checks, that he can find. He is going to bring a chain and a padlock and lock himself to the billing persons desk and tell her he is not going to leave until they figure it out. He is very certian he is going to get arrested for disorderly conduct and make the national news. Stay tuned. We will let you know when its all going to go down. When its over he is going to travel to the insurance company and pull the same stunt. Nothing will be accomplished but he will still have fun causing a ruckus. It makes him feel better.

On a lighter note dad installed a gate at the top of the stairs today. The goal is to prevent Charlotte from falling down the stairs. Its not pretty but it is secure. He had to build some mounts for it. We will leave it at that. Hopefully mom will not take pictures of dads lovely handy work. He will deny he had anything to do with it.

Charlotte has been very gassy lately. I share this because it is hysterical to hear her. She farts and laughs which makes us laugh harder. Of course she hears us laugh which makes her laugh harder causing her to fart more. Its a vicious cycle.

Chase Sanders Ritcey

Welcome to the family Chase Sanders Ritcey. Chase arrived home in Long Island today to meet his brother Liam for the first time. Charlotte loves the pictures of Chase. We are sure she is going to love giving her little cousin lots of kisses. Hopefully Liam will protect him from getting stuck playing dress up with Charlotte.

Pictures Galore

My new bean bag chair! I love it!
Abigail you cant fit up here with me.
Ok, maybe we can share.
I love you too.
Plenty of room to share :)
The sledding hill at the school.
This is exhausting.
Ready. Set. GO!
More, more, more!
Up this hill again Dad.
Trick or treat!
We asked for the treat, not the trick.
Im ready to go now.
I love getting dressed up for dinner.
Can we go now?
All these toys, but I love the free box the best.
In and out all day long.
Ok, I'm in. Now ship me somewhere warm and fun!
I love playing with frost on the windows!
Learning to read early.
Hey it says here there is a winter carnival. Can we go?
Milk face and a headband.
Ok, I don't like the headband.