Three Things Thursday

Well, this has just not been our week. We found out on Sunday evening that a little girl in Paul's class tested positive for Covid. That really threw a wrench in the week... but such is life in the time of a global pandemic. Here are 3 things on my mind today - I forced myself to come up with something positive for the 3rd one. But that's like and sometimes you just need to acknowledge rough times/crappy things so you can move ahead. 

1. Paul's classroom will be closed for 14 days from the day the little girl was last there, so Paul is home with us until he can return on Friday, October 23rd. In the spring, you were able to send your child back once they had a negative test (per the MN Dept of Health guidelines). MDH has since revised their policy and now you need to stay home for 14 days from the last known exposure. I am glad they made this change because in the spring, when we last had cases at daycare, kids got tested within the first couple of days of finding out about the positive case. They might not have had the viral load to get a positive test. So I think it's better to err on the side of caution and have people isolate for 14 days. This time around they told us to wait 5-7 days from our last exposure to make sure the testing was as accurate as possible, so we waited until day 6 (yesterday) and all got tested. It was negative - phew!! All of this has definitely resulted in some anxiety for me. I had to cancel my 32 week OB appointment, which isn't the biggest deal as I have them weekly starting at 32 weeks, but it wasn't ideal. I'm finding it harder to work from home with Paul around than it was in March/April. I'm busier at work, plus quarter end is the busiest time of year for me, and he's more verbal. I've told my coworkers I can't take client calls unless it's nap time and they've been able to accommodate that. Everyone is very understanding that this situation is out of our control. Here are a couple of pics of how we have been keeping Paul busy. I ordered some stickers and new puzzles as we clearly need more things to entertain him!

He's very into stickers. Note the usage of our "I voted!" stickers - Phil and I voted by mail in early October and confirmed our ballots had been received within 4-5 days of mailing them.

This puzzle is challenging for him, so requires some help from me. He sings his ABCs and recognizes the letters, but getting them in the right order/getting the letters to face the right direction is challenging. 

2. I'm also still struggling with flares even though I am on my max dose of prednisone. I had to stop taking my RA injection at 28 weeks and once it was out of my system, I started getting rolling flares that move from joint to joint. I guess that is just how the rest of this pregnancy is going to be. This time I got one in my elbow and it just won't go away. :/ On Tuesday, I had email exchanges with my endocrinologist, rheumatologist, OB, and hematologist. And then the hematologist had to contact the perinatalogist. It's just kind of overwhelming at times as that is a lot of -ologists to communicate with. Thank goodness for my chart/patient portals - it's way more efficient than having to call all these practices and get a nurse to call me back, etc. 

3. I'll end on a positive note. This fall has seemed especially beautiful - or maybe I'm noticing it more because I'm taking daily walks - and sometimes multiple walks/day - in our neighborhood. There is a house we walk by on most walks that has 2 geese - they change their costumes every couple of months. Paul loves walking by this house, although he calls the geese ducks - close enough, right? Seeing them is the highlight of every walk for Paul. Other costumes they've worn include a shark, football player, referee, and teacher - and the list goes on and on. There's someone creative and crafty living in that house!

The latest geese costumes - a scarecrow and a squirrel with an acorn!

Is your week going better than mine??? I hope so!