Sorry, Grammy. I couldn't resist. That picture has been kept under wraps long enough.

So, what have we been up to? Well, we have been sick. Monica had an incredibly bad flu all last week. She became sick in the middle of the night last Monday and by Wednesday she was much, much worse. Screaming in, what looked like, extreme pain. I took her to the medi-clinic where I was told what I already expected...she has the flu. So, back home we went. Between throwing up and diarrhea not much, if anything, was staying in her little body. And, of course, as any of you who know Monica would expect, she was refusing to take ALL liquids. I ended up having to force Pedialyte down her throat with a syringe...2Tbsp at a time!

Anyway, by Thursday, Monica did not appear to be improving and she was getting so weak that she couldn't walk in a straight line. We, fortunately, got an appointment with her pediatrician who seconded the flu diagnosis, but added on a left ear infection. Due to her weakness, though, we were sent off to the hospital for some urgent lab tests (I never did collect that urine specimen. Now, anyone, tell me how to just happen to remove a 16 month old's diaper and put a plastic specimen container between her legs at the EXACT moment that she needs to pee??!! Further to this, hold her still long enough to pee into the little plastic container, or any other container, and not all over the floor!).

As of Sunday, I'm happy to report that Monica is feeling much better. Her tummy is still a little unsure of solid food, but each day it's getting better. She is back to her old, mischievious ways. I would never want to see her go through that again, but this week I'm missing the quiet and cuddly Monica that I had the pleasure of taking care of last week. Still, I'm happy to hear her laugh, again, and to see her running around playing.

Other than that, I ended up rescheduling my 2 midterms this week. There was no way I was prepared for those exams and I've been sick off and on. Now, I will have to write 2 comprehensive finals to make up for this. I guess it's better to have to study that much harder in the end, then to have bombed those exams the first time. Especially when they are worth 50% of my final grade!

Well, I guess that has us up to date. I do have some more recent photos of Monica and her adventures on my camera phone, but I just need to figure out how to get those onto the computer. I'm sure it's not hard, I just have to remember to do it!

We hope you are all doing well. Take care!

-Denise & Monica