Over the River and Through the Woods

...To grandmother's house we went. You know how almost everything in life turns out differently than you expect? I was looking forward to finally having a mini-break, no housework, no one else's child to care for, and just some relaxation with my man and our little guy at my grandmother's house on the river last weekend. Unfortunately, it was anything but relaxing......

I woke up early Thursday morning around 4:00am because my legs were itching. This is followed by a nightmare that I am pregnant again. (Oh, not now!) I get a little bit more sleep and get on with my day, not noticing the itching, probably because I was too busy packing and cleaning my house before heading on the road. Right before we left I noticed red marks all over my ankles. Ah, good thing I have the motherload of anti-itch cream that was oh so useless last summer. I spread it on and down the interstate we go. We get about an hour into our 3-hour tour when I notice that the irregular bumps are spreading almost before my eyes and the itching is enough to make me crazy. Meanwhile, Tennyson, who had woken up 20 minutes into his afternoon nap at home is pretty much crying and fussing the entire time. (Very unlike him, you will find out why later.) So I page my brother -in-law for some free medical advice (yes, he's a doctor). I try to describe the rash the best way I can and we deduce they are some kind of crazy bug bite and he advises taking an antihistamine. Luckily, the "problem" is below knee level. There's something to be thankful for.....temporarily.

Well, I am trying not to scratch my legs bloody when about another 30 minutes passes and the bumps have only doubled and tripled in size. This...is...so...not...good. Thankfully, Tennyson finally fell asleep, just in time for me to have a breakdown. I was having flashbacks to being very pregnant and having that h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e rash all over my legs last summer. It was just too much to handle. So I get myself together and call my grandmother and get directions to the nearest emergency medical facility to her home.

We roll into the parking lot about 20 minutes before their 9:00pm closing time. I desperately wanted them to give me a steroid shot in the lobby, but alas, I had to actually see the doctor. So $90 and 20 minutes later they tell me I have hives and prescribe a steroid and an antihistamine. After all that we finally pull into my grandmother's driveway 4 hours after we leave home. What a long trip already.

Friday we take our time getting to Costco, a place I normally love, but they were apparently short-staffed or drunk or something because it took them 2 hours to fill my Rx. HONESTLY!!! It's not rocket science, people. Tennyson could have counted out pills faster than that! Due to the tappering-off schedule of the steroids I decide to start taking them the next morning. I have noticed however that the hives were much improved and I start to wonder why I bothered to get the Rx filled at all. Ah ha, the hopeless optimist.

We head out to my uncle's beautiful riverfront property for dinner on Friday and by the time we get there I am having a full-blown attack complete with new spots on my upper legs. Oh CRAP!!! After a few hours of food and visiting, we head home to put Tennyson to bed, noticing that he's been a little out of sorts, but not thinking too much of it. Finally my hubby and are relaxing a little on the couch, watching "Monk" and "Psych" when I realize that I am itching all over my lower back and stomach. So I go into the bathroom to inspect and sure enough I am covered in red bumps. I take 2 anti-histamine pills and call it night. Bad idea.

Tennyson had a rough night and I could barely stay awake to help with the situation. I spent most of Saturday morning in bed, trying to wake up. Don't worry, I haven't taken those pills since. I am on day #4 of the steroids however and so far the hives haven't returned. There's some good news!

We decide to leave late Saturday so Tennyson will sleep on the way home and all starts off well. He's asleep before we hit the highway, but we made a fateful stop for gas. He wakes up and literally screams and cries the rest of the home. Saturday, 10:30pm, home. I have no desire to ever leave my house again.

I will be posting some happy photos I took over the weekend. It hardly makes up for the trip, but there were some good things that came out of it. My aunt, uncle, cousin, and his wife finally got to meet Tennyson and we got to spend some quality time with my 86-year old grandmother!

We racked our brains trying to figure out what in the world caused the hives, but as yet it's unexplained. I hope and pray it was just an isolated incident.

Oh yes, I did say that I would tell you why Tennyson was out of sorts. We think after 51 weeks of life on this earth he is finally cutting teeth. Oh Lord, please give me the strength to see this through. Amen.