Yep. Here. Still here.
Sorry for the silence. Thumper and I spent the last three days visiting my mom in Jersey for Passover. Lots of time to-ing and fro-ing on NJ Transit and in cars. Lots of matzoh balls and the like. Not so much with the computering and blogging. Because I wasn’t home, also not so much with the prepping the house for selling. The open house that was scheduled for the 7th is now scheduled for the 15th. So please reschedule your finger-crossing accordingly. Thank you.
In other news, I totally screwed up my back lugging 22 pounds of baby-in-a-pouch, a backpack, and a (rolling) suitcase full of everything a baby needs to be away from home for two days the four blocks from home to Q train, the two blocks from Q train to Penn Station, through Penn Station and onto a Mom-bound train. And then there comes the bit of wrestling with a wriggley baby on my own in the rather confining train seat. He wants to nurse! No he doesn’t! He wants to look out the window! He wants to look over the back of our seat at all the nice people making cute faces at him! He wants to nurse! No, he doesn’t. He really really doesn’t, even though he was rooting and pulling the neck of my shirt open and sticking his face into it! Wriggle! Wriggle! It’s so much fun to MOVE now that he’s learned that he can MOVE!
Or maybe it was the awkwardly putting him into the car seat in my mom’s car. (We don’t have a car so I don’t have that move mastered.) Or maybe it’s all the exercise I haven’t been getting. It’s any number of things. The main thing is, I totally tweaked my lower back and then spent three days away from my lovely husband, the one person in my life actually equipped to help my back. Tonight he worked on my back and it does feel better.
Did I mention the infected spider bite? No, didn’t think I did. I have an infected spider bite. I won’t mention how much I had to pay for the prescription antibiotic cream.
How about the fact that the house isn’t ready to show and now I have a ton of work left to do and a tweaked back and an infected spider bite? Don’t want to hear about that? Yeah. I don’t blame you.
But that’s all I’ve got for you right now. A tweaked back and an infected spider bite and a kid who’s started to crawl and a hell of a lot left to do to get this house ready.
List of fantastic fortunate things buried in this gripe of a post: loving family to visit; healthy adorable active wriggley kid; house to sell; husband who spends all day fixing other people’s backs and then comes home and lovingly fixes mine. Okay. So not so bad, really.
But I could do without the infected spider bite.
Actually, I /do/ want to hear about the infected spider bite. In New York City in winter??? How is that even possible? I thought that sort of thing happened in Australia, or Belize, or some place like that. This probably just goed to show how little I know.
Any chance of the lovely cleaning ladies coming back to help with getting the house show-ready?
Posted by: marrije
Also, your mom does that journey each week to spend time with you and Thumper?? She’s even more marvellous than I already realised.
Posted by: marrije
Sorry about the spider bite. Those can be really painful.
Posted by: Carole
Ew! I had an infected spider bite on the back of my hand a number of years, so I know how awful that is. Mine was in its full glory on Halloween and I was going to a concert in Georgetown (DC. While I was NOT in costume like many people, I think I got more strange looks than anyone.
Posted by: Wendy
These are the times that try women’s souls…..
*sigh*
Sending a hug or two your way, sweetie.
Posted by: Norma
Good luck on a speedy recovery… from everything!
Posted by: BethC
Too bad the spider wasn’t radioactive- you could’ve used your super spidey powers to whip that house into shape in no time.
Posted by: Iris
No, we want to hear about it. I hope you didn’t actually SEE the spider. Yikes.
I predict improvement!
Posted by: claudia
Years ago my brother had an infected spider bite – swelled up like a ping pong ball under the skin of his forearm.
OK – this is gross but it always makes me laugh.
So this was when he was in college and a friend of his invited him to be an escort to a ball so he is in NY all dressed up in a tux over the holidays and he feels something on his arm under the sleeve and goes the the washroom.
The infection has drained, leaving a – forgive me – ahem, biological mess all over his shirt arm, blood, other things – you know.
He’s got his jacket off, and he’s cleaning up when the attendant comes into the washroom and turns all pale and faint at the sight and kind of gasps and says WHAT HAPPENED.
Without missing a beat, my brother – tall, blond and preppy looking and wearing formalwear – looks up, says “stab wound” with a shrug and goes back to work cleaning himself up.
The attendant FLEES into the night.
Anytime I hear the words ‘spider bite’ this is what does through my head.
Posted by: juno
I can completely relate on so many counts – except the infected spider bite. Can I tell you how much I’m looking forward to not having to carry two babies plus my purse and lunch bag and mail and whatever else up a flight of stairs every night? Not at all good on the back. Travelling with babies is just not fun either. Sigh.
But yes, lots of things to be thankful for – healthy babies, loving husbands…gotta keep that in mind. gotta keep that in mind…. gotta keep that in mind!
Posted by: melanie
Traveling with small children is hard. I get pretty stressed out when the kids and i have to go somewhere via LIRR or Amtrak, even though they’re older and more portable as a result. I’m sorry you’re dealing with all this tsuris! I hope your back and your spider bite get better soon. Sending you much love from snowy Manhattan. Do you believe it’s snowing?! Enough with this weather already.
Posted by: regina
I think the sheer amount of STUFF in a baby-support-system was the thing that surprised me most about having a baby. Kudos to you for making it to your mom’s!
I got an infected spider bite within weeks of moving here–turns out, there are lots of spiders in CA. I hope yours goes away quickly!
Posted by: Amy
Actually, I /do/ want to hear about the infected spider bite. In New York City in winter??? How is that even possible? I thought that sort of thing happened in Australia, or Belize, or some place like that. This probably just goed to show how little I know.
Any chance of the lovely cleaning ladies coming back to help with getting the house show-ready?
Posted by: marrije
Also, your mom does that journey each week to spend time with you and Thumper?? She’s even more marvellous than I already realised.
Posted by: marrije
Sorry about the spider bite. Those can be really painful.
Posted by: Carole
Ew! I had an infected spider bite on the back of my hand a number of years, so I know how awful that is. Mine was in its full glory on Halloween and I was going to a concert in Georgetown (DC. While I was NOT in costume like many people, I think I got more strange looks than anyone.
Posted by: Wendy
These are the times that try women’s souls…..
*sigh*
Sending a hug or two your way, sweetie.
Posted by: Norma
Good luck on a speedy recovery… from everything!
Posted by: BethC
Too bad the spider wasn’t radioactive- you could’ve used your super spidey powers to whip that house into shape in no time.
Posted by: Iris
No, we want to hear about it. I hope you didn’t actually SEE the spider. Yikes.
I predict improvement!
Posted by: claudia
Years ago my brother had an infected spider bite – swelled up like a ping pong ball under the skin of his forearm.
OK – this is gross but it always makes me laugh.
So this was when he was in college and a friend of his invited him to be an escort to a ball so he is in NY all dressed up in a tux over the holidays and he feels something on his arm under the sleeve and goes the the washroom.
The infection has drained, leaving a – forgive me – ahem, biological mess all over his shirt arm, blood, other things – you know.
He’s got his jacket off, and he’s cleaning up when the attendant comes into the washroom and turns all pale and faint at the sight and kind of gasps and says WHAT HAPPENED.
Without missing a beat, my brother – tall, blond and preppy looking and wearing formalwear – looks up, says “stab wound” with a shrug and goes back to work cleaning himself up.
The attendant FLEES into the night.
Anytime I hear the words ‘spider bite’ this is what does through my head.
Posted by: juno
I can completely relate on so many counts – except the infected spider bite. Can I tell you how much I’m looking forward to not having to carry two babies plus my purse and lunch bag and mail and whatever else up a flight of stairs every night? Not at all good on the back. Travelling with babies is just not fun either. Sigh.
But yes, lots of things to be thankful for – healthy babies, loving husbands…gotta keep that in mind. gotta keep that in mind…. gotta keep that in mind!
Posted by: melanie
Traveling with small children is hard. I get pretty stressed out when the kids and i have to go somewhere via LIRR or Amtrak, even though they’re older and more portable as a result. I’m sorry you’re dealing with all this tsuris! I hope your back and your spider bite get better soon. Sending you much love from snowy Manhattan. Do you believe it’s snowing?! Enough with this weather already.
Posted by: regina
I think the sheer amount of STUFF in a baby-support-system was the thing that surprised me most about having a baby. Kudos to you for making it to your mom’s!
I got an infected spider bite within weeks of moving here–turns out, there are lots of spiders in CA. I hope yours goes away quickly!
Posted by: Amy
Well at least it’s your spider bite and not Thumpers! That really stinks. I got bit on the lip once. YUCK! I’ll be down in the lovely Garden State in just a couple of weeks visiting the parents for spring break, a break from the snow will be nice since we got another foot last night! Ain’t mass transit grand? I used to do the whole commuter thing and know the sprint across Penn Station well!
Posted by: Liz
I had a nasty spider bite last summer, but it didn’t get infected. They are no fun!
One of the hard parts about being somebody’s mom, is that sometimes you just want someone to be your mom. I hope you had lots of nice mothering from your mom. This too shall pass…
Posted by: LaurieM
I tried to think of something positve about the infected spider bite. Here are two possibles:
1)you have access to and money to pay for (expensive) medicine to help
2)it’s better than m*ths attacking the stash!
Posted by: Toni K.
OW! Infected spider bite, not good!!
Traveling with the little ones is hard, hard work. Nobody believes you, either. “Oh, why don’t you just bring the kids to {names place at least eighteen hours away}? It’ll be FUN!”
Yeah, fun like jabbing myself in the armpit with a #2 DPN. And also exhausting. There is no “safe pit” on the road; here at home, I have areas where I can rest easy in the knowledge that in order to hurt himself, Captain Adventure would have to work really, really hard at it. On the road? I have no idea what he might suddenly find and put in his mouth. (He’s almost three, and STILL popping things like buttons and marbles into his mouth. Hey, it *might* be candy! LET’S TRY IT AND SEE!)
Hope your bite feels better soon!!
Posted by: Mother Chaos
Oh, I’m sorry to hear about all that…BUT, is your husband a chiropractor? And if so, I can’t even begin to tell you how envious I am! I used to fantasize about being married to a carpenter (I do a LOT of home improvement projects), but ever since I started seeing my chiropractor last year, I have a new dream: daily adjustments for free…oh, I think I’m drooling!
Posted by: Suzanne
Haaaa! Your post made me laugh out loud. I’ve done that must-nurse-nope-just-kidding routine on planes. A few months ago I thought it would be “fun” to fly alone (only carry on, of course) with a cloth-diapered 3 month old to visit my octogenarian grandfather. You can imagine how well that worked out. I hope your back and spider bite (!) heal and you get on top of the whole move thing. Take care!
Posted by: Elinor
Doesn’t it always seems like everything happens at once and lots of things up being a lot harder than expected? I got a spider bite when I was 12 that caused my leg to swell from my knee to my hip and ultimately required a steroids when nothing else worked. I still have a scar (and still remember it) – not fun.
I don’t have any kids yet (or a husband), but even animals lead to adventures you would rather not have. One of my cats is currently at the vet. I’ve spent $700 so far and they may still need to do surgery. She’s there because she ate some sort of mystery item (I know whatever it is was green – still no clue what it was) and it appears to have gotten stuck – they think – maybe. Just when I had nearly saved enough to buy a new dishwasher (mine is held together with a couple of plastic ties), poof, gone.
Posted by: Jennfier
Spiders SUCK!
A BAD spider bite (we think it was a black widow, I am in CA) is how I got my son!
We were going to start trying in a month or so, but the meds for the spider bite killed the pill, so we just said what the heck. I was prego with 2 weeks!
Now everytime we find him up something he shouldn’t be, my husband looks at me and says, “What do you expect, he is a spider baby after all”.
take care- it will all get worked out-
Posted by: aleakamh
It’s very cool that your back fixer lives with you.
Posted by: Kim
I remember you writing about a spider bite many moons ago…
Heal well and fast. Sell fast too.
This too will pass.
xxx
Posted by: Emma
It is wonderful that you are able to see the blessings in your life in the midst of all that is happening. I hope you feel better soon.
Posted by: Sarah
Oh, that stinks (the spider bite and back part). I hope that in spite of those things you really did have a lovely time at your mom’s. He crawls? Damn, gotta see the Thumper-in-motion.
Posted by: Cassie
Oh the life of a mommy! Be of good cheer; it does get easier and these memories will one day be precious to you. Thumper is looking just beautiful.
Posted by: ellen
I am amazed how mommies can do it all! Not even a spider bite and wonky back will keep you down! Sending you all my best wishes and positive vibes to get everything done. Maybe you could get the dogs to help?
Posted by: Ande
All I can think of to say is: It’ll be OK. Really, it all will.
Posted by: alison
you don’t know me, but I regularly enjoy your blog (thank you!) and wanted to ‘give back’ a little.
This may sound a little paranoid, but it’s a real-life experince a friend had in the Boston area recently involving a number of *misdiagnosed spider bites* -up until people started to figure out that there aren’t biting spiders in the area in winter. Turns out that she, a very healthy, athletic young woman, had picked up the antibiotic resistant bacterial infection that you usually only hear about in hospitals.
In the last few years MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) has found its way into the general population, but GP’s/docs aren’t consistently aware of it yet. It’s turning up, however, in locker rooms (many professional ones) and many other warm moist environments where bacteria like to grow including day care centers -horrors! It’s pretty virulent, so it’s hard to prevent catching it. What is important is to know the symptoms and be properly diagnosed. Untreated it gets messy.
So if another bite shows up -don’t assume there’s a nest in your house. Get checked out.
If you actually saw the spider that got you, or it ends up an isolated incident, that um .. well bites! And I do hope it gets better quickly.
Keep up the wonderful blog -with Thumper pics or knitting projects.
best,
Paula
Posted by: mrsa
Hi Cari–If it makes you feel any better, I worked with a woman years ago who met her wonderful husband because of an infected spider bite. He was the doctor at the walk in clinic she went to. I hope that somehow, your spider bite ends up being that romantic!
Posted by: karen
I, too, can relate to the spider bite thing. Hence, I always post about the b*stards I kill in my garage on my blog!! haha
Yeah, I was 11 years old, it was on the inside of my thigh, swollen, red, purple rings, huge and all–got hit with a BASKETBALL and bled so bad my aunt put a freakin maxi-pad on it!
Those were the days… I still have a scar. It looks like a bullet wound.
Gosh, I hope you get better!
It might be fun, since everyone’s so interested, if you post a pic of the bite! haha Just kidding. No I’m not. Okay, enough.
Posted by: TheSteph
Well at least it’s your spider bite and not Thumpers! That really stinks. I got bit on the lip once. YUCK! I’ll be down in the lovely Garden State in just a couple of weeks visiting the parents for spring break, a break from the snow will be nice since we got another foot last night! Ain’t mass transit grand? I used to do the whole commuter thing and know the sprint across Penn Station well!
Posted by: Liz
I had a nasty spider bite last summer, but it didn’t get infected. They are no fun!
One of the hard parts about being somebody’s mom, is that sometimes you just want someone to be your mom. I hope you had lots of nice mothering from your mom. This too shall pass…
Posted by: LaurieM
I tried to think of something positve about the infected spider bite. Here are two possibles:
1)you have access to and money to pay for (expensive) medicine to help
2)it’s better than m*ths attacking the stash!
Posted by: Toni K.
OW! Infected spider bite, not good!!
Traveling with the little ones is hard, hard work. Nobody believes you, either. “Oh, why don’t you just bring the kids to {names place at least eighteen hours away}? It’ll be FUN!”
Yeah, fun like jabbing myself in the armpit with a #2 DPN. And also exhausting. There is no “safe pit” on the road; here at home, I have areas where I can rest easy in the knowledge that in order to hurt himself, Captain Adventure would have to work really, really hard at it. On the road? I have no idea what he might suddenly find and put in his mouth. (He’s almost three, and STILL popping things like buttons and marbles into his mouth. Hey, it *might* be candy! LET’S TRY IT AND SEE!)
Hope your bite feels better soon!!
Posted by: Mother Chaos
Oh, I’m sorry to hear about all that…BUT, is your husband a chiropractor? And if so, I can’t even begin to tell you how envious I am! I used to fantasize about being married to a carpenter (I do a LOT of home improvement projects), but ever since I started seeing my chiropractor last year, I have a new dream: daily adjustments for free…oh, I think I’m drooling!
Posted by: Suzanne
Haaaa! Your post made me laugh out loud. I’ve done that must-nurse-nope-just-kidding routine on planes. A few months ago I thought it would be “fun” to fly alone (only carry on, of course) with a cloth-diapered 3 month old to visit my octogenarian grandfather. You can imagine how well that worked out. I hope your back and spider bite (!) heal and you get on top of the whole move thing. Take care!
Posted by: Elinor
Doesn’t it always seems like everything happens at once and lots of things up being a lot harder than expected? I got a spider bite when I was 12 that caused my leg to swell from my knee to my hip and ultimately required a steroids when nothing else worked. I still have a scar (and still remember it) – not fun.
I don’t have any kids yet (or a husband), but even animals lead to adventures you would rather not have. One of my cats is currently at the vet. I’ve spent $700 so far and they may still need to do surgery. She’s there because she ate some sort of mystery item (I know whatever it is was green – still no clue what it was) and it appears to have gotten stuck – they think – maybe. Just when I had nearly saved enough to buy a new dishwasher (mine is held together with a couple of plastic ties), poof, gone.
Posted by: Jennfier
Spiders SUCK!
A BAD spider bite (we think it was a black widow, I am in CA) is how I got my son!
We were going to start trying in a month or so, but the meds for the spider bite killed the pill, so we just said what the heck. I was prego with 2 weeks!
Now everytime we find him up something he shouldn’t be, my husband looks at me and says, “What do you expect, he is a spider baby after all”.
take care- it will all get worked out-
Posted by: aleakamh
It’s very cool that your back fixer lives with you.
Posted by: Kim
I remember you writing about a spider bite many moons ago…
Heal well and fast. Sell fast too.
This too will pass.
xxx
Posted by: Emma
It is wonderful that you are able to see the blessings in your life in the midst of all that is happening. I hope you feel better soon.
Posted by: Sarah
Oh, that stinks (the spider bite and back part). I hope that in spite of those things you really did have a lovely time at your mom’s. He crawls? Damn, gotta see the Thumper-in-motion.
Posted by: Cassie
Oh the life of a mommy! Be of good cheer; it does get easier and these memories will one day be precious to you. Thumper is looking just beautiful.
Posted by: ellen
I am amazed how mommies can do it all! Not even a spider bite and wonky back will keep you down! Sending you all my best wishes and positive vibes to get everything done. Maybe you could get the dogs to help?
Posted by: Ande
All I can think of to say is: It’ll be OK. Really, it all will.
Posted by: alison
you don’t know me, but I regularly enjoy your blog (thank you!) and wanted to ‘give back’ a little.
This may sound a little paranoid, but it’s a real-life experince a friend had in the Boston area recently involving a number of *misdiagnosed spider bites* -up until people started to figure out that there aren’t biting spiders in the area in winter. Turns out that she, a very healthy, athletic young woman, had picked up the antibiotic resistant bacterial infection that you usually only hear about in hospitals.
In the last few years MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) has found its way into the general population, but GP’s/docs aren’t consistently aware of it yet. It’s turning up, however, in locker rooms (many professional ones) and many other warm moist environments where bacteria like to grow including day care centers -horrors! It’s pretty virulent, so it’s hard to prevent catching it. What is important is to know the symptoms and be properly diagnosed. Untreated it gets messy.
So if another bite shows up -don’t assume there’s a nest in your house. Get checked out.
If you actually saw the spider that got you, or it ends up an isolated incident, that um .. well bites! And I do hope it gets better quickly.
Keep up the wonderful blog -with Thumper pics or knitting projects.
best,
Paula
Posted by: mrsa
Hi Cari–If it makes you feel any better, I worked with a woman years ago who met her wonderful husband because of an infected spider bite. He was the doctor at the walk in clinic she went to. I hope that somehow, your spider bite ends up being that romantic!
Posted by: karen
I, too, can relate to the spider bite thing. Hence, I always post about the b*stards I kill in my garage on my blog!! haha
Yeah, I was 11 years old, it was on the inside of my thigh, swollen, red, purple rings, huge and all–got hit with a BASKETBALL and bled so bad my aunt put a freakin maxi-pad on it!
Those were the days… I still have a scar. It looks like a bullet wound.
Gosh, I hope you get better!
It might be fun, since everyone’s so interested, if you post a pic of the bite! haha Just kidding. No I’m not. Okay, enough.
Posted by: TheSteph
OK, I know I’ve probably had spider bites, but I just don’t want to know about it. To me, they are all mosquito bites. 🙂
I am impressed that you did all that walking and dragging and changing conveyances with Thumper on you. I was a sling mama (with a big baby) and I remember the feeling of absolute exhaustion after treks around the town.
Posted by: Jeanne
OK, I know I’ve probably had spider bites, but I just don’t want to know about it. To me, they are all mosquito bites. 🙂
I am impressed that you did all that walking and dragging and changing conveyances with Thumper on you. I was a sling mama (with a big baby) and I remember the feeling of absolute exhaustion after treks around the town.
Posted by: Jeanne