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One Present Too Many….

Happy Birthday Nicholas!! As of 8:08 a.m. this morning, May 8th (all those eights must be good luck, right?), my littlest man turned three. For me, three years old marks the end of babyhood. He is a full-fledged little boy, and the first to tell you, “I not a baby. I am Nicholas!” Yes you are kid, and one of a kind at that.

It was a day filled with being outside, planting impatiens in the flowerbed, digging in the dirt, going to the park, watching a favorite movie (how many times can they really watch CARS?!), a nap on the couch, and playing, playing, playing. There were packages in the mail, presents, phone calls from family, a chorus of Bonne Fête Nicholas! and cupcakes too.  Not bad, eh? Benjamin was an especially cute big-brother, announcing proudly to just about everyone: “That’s my brother Nicholas (pointing to the birthday boy). It’s his birthday. He’s three. I’m Ben and I’m four and a half, but I’m the size of a six-year-old.” (That’s true!). This announcement earned him and his brother a sticker from the kind cashier at Target (LOVE Target!).

Little chef making cupcakes for his brother.

Tired birthday boy.

There was one aspect of the day that I could have done without however. Nicholas was given an unwanted present at the park, a nasty-little gift from Mother Nature….a tick! And a deer tick at that. Let me say this: I loathe ticks. Ticks freak me out. Now, I have a pretty strong stomach, and can handle a whole lot of yucky stuff. We’ve had our share of stomach flus, allergies, colds, stitches, staples, broken toes, bee stings, poison ivy, projectile spit-up, and all sorts of little boy goop. I’m o.k. with bees, wasps, spiders, stink-bugs, and worms (I even like worms!)  BUT, I draw the line at ticks. Ticks are gross. They make my skin crawl. So imagine the ick factor when I found one attached to Nicholas’ arm as I strapped him into his car-seat. First reaction? Get the sucker off, ASAP!! Which is what I did, throwing it to the ground of the Target parking lot. My next thought? *%$#! I need to keep the disgusting little bugger to have it tested for Lyme’s disease! So, there I am, basically on my hands and knees outside Target searching for a bug smaller than an M&M, while the peanut gallery in the van asked over and over: “Mommy, what are you doing?!” Uh…..Mommy’s looking for something…..Gross.

I never found the tick, but I did call the boys’ pediatrician as soon as I got home. Turns out a tick needs to be embedded (Ewwww!!) for at least 24 hours before there is any risk of Lyme’s disease. In the meantime I treated the bite as I would any break in the skin, which meant a good wash with soap and hot water, along with some serious disinfectant. Our pediatrician (who is awesome!!), advised me of a few symptoms to look for, just in case: rash that spreads in the next few days, flu like symptoms in the next few weeks, and complaints of joint pain.

Whew. Crisis averted, right? 

Think I’ll go buy some bug-spray.

In the meantime, I did promise to share recipes, so here’s the one for the cupcakes Ben and I made for Nicholas. They were super tasty and jam-filled, as requested by the birthday boy. Thank you, Giada De Laurentiis. Enjoy!


Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 9, 2012 at 10:49 PM

    Hi Sweetie,
    This blog is great. I love reading it but I don't know how to make one. Hope all is well with you, Pierre and the boys.
    All my love,
    Bubby

    ReplyDelete

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