I’m so behind and stressed about my posts from Christmas that I have basically started to fully avoid the computer! I have pictures and pictures to go through and then I’ll put some up, but first I’ll just dip my toe in and post a few pics of Brady – who is home today from school.

So - I noticed some bumps on the insides of Brady’s legs a few weeks ago. When they didn’t go away, I decided to take him to see a dermatologist. I noticed Logan had some bumps too…not quite the same as Brady’s. I didn’t think his was anything serious because he’s actually a pretty bumpy kid. He has Keratosis Pilaris (translation: dry skin) which is an inherited skin problem…ahem…from me…that requires no treatment beyond lotion, lotion, lotion. So anyway, it turns out that both of the boys have Molluscum (a lovely member of the wart family, common in kids and mostly transmitted through water like at pools and such). The treatment for molluscum is varied, but the most popular method is blister beetle juice which is applied to each little bump and then magically turns that bump into a blister. Uck! Each of the boys was given maybe 10-20 spot treatments and the (wonderful) doctor gave me all the details on taking care of them. They can be quite painful and feel like tiny burns. She said it might be bad and that I should do whatever I could to make them feel comfortable. They had the treatments around 11am and I was told to wash it off before bedtime in a nice (lukewarm) bath and look for blisters by bedtime. I spent all day yesterday gathering first aid supplies – visiting Walgreen’s, Target and chatting with the pharmacist there. I lined up all my purchases up on the counter in the kitchen and called Brian in to see. “You know how they say if you have an umbrella, it doesn’t rain?” I asked. “Well this,” I said waving to my giant pile of aloe Vera, oatmeal bath packs, Tylenol, long Band-Aids, blister Band-Aids, spot Band-Aids and ice packs, “is my umbrella…I’m expecting this to be a breeze with no pain!”

So how is Logan feeling today? Normal – nothing – fine – none of his spots even blistered! How is Brady feeling? Not quite as well as Logan, but overall not bad! His spots did turn into blisters, which I was told to pop and clean using a sterile needle the doctor gave me. I think the worst part for him was that I’m no good with a needle and went in a teensy bit too far on a couple spots – ug! Plus, according to Brady, I have “very cold hands!”! I managed to get them all popped and put him in an oatmeal bath. I then cleaned him up, covered him in aloe Vera and put on actual blister patch things I found at Walgreen’s yesterday. Other than walking around like he just got off a horse and wanting only to wear PJs (yes, his red snowman ones – again), he’s peachy. He’s extremely happy to skip school – that’s for sure!

Here are Brady and Kona on the couch chillin this morning.

Shockingly, Brady started feeling like SO much better right after he would have gone to school. I told him he had to sit down, but he said, “school is going on right now, right? but it’s too late for me to go, right?!” So I let him goof around and he made me peas out of play-doh