Dry


Skin conditions.



Another obligatory picture of me in my office. It's time to let my hair grow out again.

I'm getting a bit more focused in some of the tasks I have to do, just as more things are starting to pile up. As usual, I seem to be working on things that I'm not being paid to do, and not working on things that are paying my salary. I can't help but believe that this is going to come bite me some day.

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I think I strained some tendons in my knees. Or maybe ligaments. Whatever. I haven't gone jogging since Ryan zoomed by me a couple of days ago. Trying to let my knees heal. I expect I'll walk Bessie for a couple of miles this weekend, though.

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William had another Kindergarten visit yesterday at one of our top choices for schools. We spent a long time talking with a parent from the school while William was being evaluated by teachers, and then Hsuan and I spoke with the head of school. I think we asked maybe more questions than he was expecting, but most of our questions were probably things he'd heard many times before.

William has visits the last private independent school on our list tomorrow. This weekend, we visit a couple of parochial schools, including our parish school.

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Hsuan and I have been battling dry, cracked skin for the past couple of months. I've had the problem for maybe the past five years during winter months; Hsuan has had the problem even longer. It's gotten to the point that I've gotten prescription moisturizing lotions and hydrocortisone creams from my dermatologist. I've assumed it was a combination of dry weather and age, since I've experienced the problem only in recent years, but the boys have been having dry skin problems, too. With William, the skin on his hands, particularly his knuckles, has been dry and chafing pretty badly. In fact, as I was typing this entry, he woke up and came into my office, complaining of itchy skin, so I rubbed baby lotion on him.

Since birth, James has had drier, rougher skin than William has ever had. I wonder if it's related to the allergic tendency he may have inherited from me. Plus, he's had an ear infection which we've been treating with amoxicillin for the past week, and to top it all off, he's got diaper rash, probably from the loose stool or diarrhea that may be a side effect of the meds. I think he likes the amoxicillin, and he likes it when I rub baby lotion on him. He doesn't enjoy the diaper rash cream; his butt stings a lot.

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Ever since Hsuan came back from Dallas, I haven't been able to get James to put himself to bed. He keeps hoping for Mommy to put him to bed, but I'm keeping that duty strictly to myself for now, given that temporary breakthrough when she was gone.

In spite of the occasional crankiness, the boys are remarkably cooperative (read: obedient) when I'm taking care of them alone -- which is nice, really, but single-father-mode is hard even when the boys (and the dog, too, for that matter) are 100% compliant. Division of labor is easier on both parents, since each of us can take care of one boy while the other boy is taken care of by the other one of us. (Bessie is wonderfully patient all the time, regardless of who is or isn't home.)

Posted: Thu - January 25, 2007 at 12:17 AM          

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