What Do You Do With a Sick Pumpkin?

Brigid has a cold. A nasty, stuffy, runny, wet-faced cold. She started coming down with it the other day and this morning it's full-blown (or I wish it was blown. At least she'd be able to breathe!) Poor baby. Jack has the brunt of it this morning because we're finding she does not make the best patient when she's not feeling well. Last night, she really started having difficulty breathing and was sneezing a lot all weekend. She's glassy-eyed, and she's been batting at her ears, but she doesn't seem to have a fever. I'll have to monitor that to make sure it doesn't evolve into anything more serious. It's hard for her to nurse because she's having such a hard time breathing through her nose, so she's suffocating herself in her attempts to nurse.

I can't say I'm surprised she's not feeling well since I've been sick with a head cold myself. I am surprised it's taken her this long to come down with it. And Margaret and Patricia have both been sick with coughs and scratchy throats, so it was just a matter of time. But it's so hard with a baby because they can't tell you that they don't feel well. We just have to keep her hydrated and keep an eye on her temp.

In spite of the cold, we had a great time at Frances' Halloween party. And crisis was averted when we all came up with costumes. Patricia's Cleopatra costume will have to be unveiled on Halloween, but she ended up doing a unique turn as a Yankees fan, complete with pennant and her Build a Bear horse dressed in his Yankees outfit. We pulled a rabbit out of a hat with Margaret's costume. She wanted to be the evil queen from Snow White, so we went to the OLVA thrift store Saturday morning and found a dress that was perfect. A black head covering that is supposed to be for a ninja outfit worked as the hood she wears, and her magician's cape made it perfect. She carried a basket with shiny apples and a mirror. Jack looked great in his paddler's outfit. And I went as the World's Oldest Prom Queen in my red gown. The pumpkin of the family looked adorable as a pumpkin. I hope she can make her Halloween debut tomorrow night.

And the middle school dance was a success for Margaret on Friday. She and some friends danced and had a lot of fun. It was very well structured and monitored and the kind of atmosphere where the girls didn't feel like they were out of place if boys weren't asking them to dance. If only we could keep them that innocent.