late nights

Late nights, always followed by very early mornings, can FTFO.  I cannot seem to be able to settle down for sleep before one in the fucking morning.  I cannot shut my stupid fucking brain off.  And the kids just do not sleep later than about seven in the fucking morning. 

Run, honey, run.

I am...appalled.  I get that this teenage girl has ruined her life, and likely the life of the child she carries. 

However.  I do not think her parents have her best interests in mind.  Any parent who remarks that they should just slip their daughter the abortion pill, or who says that they ought to just drag her to the abortion clinic and force her to have an abortion, are nothing short of callous, selfish, self-centered, and evil.  The only thing they're likely worried about is how young they are to be grandparents, rather than focusing on their daughter, who wants to do the right thing and carry the baby to term. 

Her parents should be encouraging her to look into adoption, an open adoption where she can be a beloved auntie and favorite babysitter, rather than pushing the poor child to have an abortion with such vigor that she's served them with a restraining order. 

It also speaks poorly of their character that they've been harassing the baby's biological father, and threatening his parents. 

I am honestly so slack-jawed shocked and horrified by this that I can't muster a proper rant.  All I have to say to these people is either come to your senses and do what's best for your daughter (and no, an abortion is not that, not in this case, not in the long run), or get the fucking hell away from her before you do a spiritual and psychological damage to her that will never heal.

And yes, a parent--someone who is supposed to be worthy of a child's implicit trust will never harm them--forcing a child who doesn't want one to have an abortion will do irreparable damage to this girl. 

not feelin' it this morning

Mold.  Mold and allergies.  Both can FTFO.  I hate mold.  It's one of the only allergies I have.

At least we're almost done getting that moldy carpet out. 

earaches

Earaches--especially in children too young to use my favorite remedies (heat pad, hot tea or hot cocoa, super-spicy food)--can FTFO.

Tuesday, the pixie started getting really whiny, and clingy.  She was worse, Wednesday, crying at the drop of a hat as well (and the imp wasn't being helpful--with how touchy she was, he was having a ball harassing her and getting reactions).  I checked her temperature between doses of painkiller (still teething...and I'm starting to get a little worried about that, too), and it was elevated.  Then, she told me her ear hurt.

I've been keeping up in the professional literature (not the parenting forums, but medical journals), and it's becoming more and more common for a doctor to do nothing for a child with a mild to moderate ear infection--they tell parents to give the kid anti-inflamitory, and a decongestant for a couple of days, to see if it goes away on its own.  I can see the point: they've realized that a good majority of these are caused more by viruses swelling tissue and preventing normal drainage, and they don't want to create more antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.

That doesn't make a parent feel better when a child is hurting.

I gave the pixie Benedryl last night (she flat refused to take it Wednesday), and I'm going to be watching her over the weekend.  Johnson's Soothing Vapors bubble bath seemed to help for a while.  If anyone has any other ideas that might help, please drop me a comment or shoot me an email at heroditus.huxley@gmail.com.

But seriously.  Earaches with fever can really FTFO.