Ears

Last week Charles was not himself. We went to the doctor on Tuesday and discovered he has his first ear infection. He's been a trooper, but definitely not himself. Waking up in the night is a rare and unwelcome occurrence at our house. Yesterday he woke up with thick green snot dripping out of his nose so I called the doctor. He'd been on the amoxicillin (a childhood favorite of mine but this was orange instead of the traditional bubblegum pink) for almost a week and still wasn't himself. It's not like him to lay down on the floor or cry at the drop of a hat. So...we're on to the next round of antibiotics. The pharmacist warned it may cause diarrhea towards the end of the 10 days he's on it. Great...one more thing to look forward to. I guess it kills all the bacteria even the ones that help your digestive system function normally. If it's not one thing it's another.

Charles is still trying to learn how to do somersaults. He stands with his rear in the air and his hands and head on the floor. That's about as close as he gets. Then he stands up and moves on to something else. I'm sure he'll figure it out sooner or later. In the mean time it's pretty funny.

His other new trick is to lay down in the bath tub. I think face down. I'm not sure what he thinks he's doing, but we've been advised to get him in to swimming lessons as soon as we can. I need to do some checking to find a place that gives kids this little lessons. I've got a lifeguard friend. Maybe she'll know. I think she used to give lessons.

I'm sure I'll get some good pictures tomorrow night. We haven't decided on the tiger or the puppy costume. I think the tiger will probably win as it's easier to put on and has less accessories to worry about. I've got to pull out my lipstick and eyeliner and draw on a nose and whiskers. He'll hate it but he'll be cute. Russell will miss the trick-or-treating adventure since he has class until after 8pm. We're planning to go to Grandpa & Grandma's house and meet up with cousins Elena, PJ, and Brookelyn. Mom & Dad have lots of kids in their neighborhood and it's a safe place to walk at night. We're planning to eat sloppy joes, hit some houses, and then hand out candy. I got Charles a little pumpkin trick-or-treat bag last night at Wal-Mart. He liked carrying it around the house, hopefully he'll do okay tomorrow night. He'll love being outside walking if nothing else. His dad will like the candy!

Russell has about 5 weeks until the end of the semester. The countdown began quite a while ago! Last week he had two tests. He got his score for the one he was most concerned about and did much better than last time, and better than the class average on this test. His professor told him if he makes improvements throughout the semester he shouldn't worry about his grade. He's got another test tomorrow and is getting ready for his exit exam which is the Saturday before Thanksgiving. He gets 4 pieces of paper with notes which will help. Two of his classes this semester are preparing him for 1/2 the exit exam and he's been assured that the class will have covered the topics on the exam. Other good news on the educational front...he got a professor to work with him and do a 1 hour independent study next spring. It sounds like they had a good conversation and this man helped Russ choose an appropriate class for next semester as well as outline the independent study. If all goes well he'll graduate in May! Charles and I won't know what to do with him home all the time and Russell won't know what to do with all his free time. I'm sure for the first few weeks he'll enjoy doing NOTHING!!!