The cool and not so cool

We got the word at the pediatrician's office today - Andy's long-running ear infection is refusing to clear up after three rounds of antibiotics. Based on his ears' performance refusing to clear up last spring when colds were less common and now that we're going into cold and flu season, she says it's time to get the surgery to put in ear tubes. Everyone I've talked to whose child has them raves that it has made all the difference in both their kids' temperament improving because their ears don't hurt and then the kids avoiding being sick going forward, but it's still something I was hoping to avoid. Rats.

I called the surgeon and we're booked for December 10. It sounds like a quick procedure. They said he's put under a general anesthetic delivered through a mask. Then we leave the room and about 10 minutes later, we're brought back into the recovery room where he wakes up minutes later. Our pediatrician said some kids are able to take a nap and go to daycare in the afternoon, but I don't think we'll test that. Now I've got to figure out some of the follow up stuff, like do I have to plug his ears for bath time and swimming? He refuses to put his head under water in the bath or pool at the moment (as you can see, he prefers "cooking" instead), but I imagine that won't last forever.

Meanwhile, my earlier post on men refusing to give up a seat to a pregnant lady at the OB's office got me a shout out over on DC Blogs. I feel so famous. Thanks to Chris for telling me about it.

Dancing in the aisles

We went with some friends yesterday to a concert by Billy B. at the National Geographic headquarters up at 16th and M. I thought we'd take the Metro so Andy could see the train. On a weekend, it takes a lot longer to take Metro than drive, but I thought he'd get a kick out of it. Sadly, he was bored after about five minutes. The concert was cool even though it was probably better suited for first graders. The real downside was it was a solid hour and by about 30-40 minutes, the littler kids were really antsy. After about 10 minutes, Andy spent the rest of the time dancing in the aisles and generally running through the auditorium. Good thing is was small and filled with lots of other small kids so it wasn't a big deal. Billy B wasn't my favorite. I'm glad we went, but he's no Steve Songs. I'm all for educational stuff and mixing that with cute songs, but this was a little heavy on the education and less cute.

Afterwards, my two friends, their two daughters and us went over to Bertucci's at 18th and Connecticut. It seemed lame to come all the way downtown to eat at a chain, but the other options nearby were crowded or not really kid friendly. Bertucci's ended up being great though. The pizza was good and fast, we got a salad and the nice waiter gave the kids ice cream at the end. It was also big enough and relatively empty in the back where we were that the kids could play and not really be in anyone's way. We took the Metro back just in time for the surprise rain to hit. By the time Bjorn got us home from the Metro, we were both exhausted and took long naps. It was a good day though.

Meanwhile, holla over to Wonkette and No Fact Zone for including here. It's amusing to think I'm the only person who didn't think Tom Davis totally sucked on the show. Perhaps that's because I only get about half his jokes, but I still think Davis held his own against the guy. I give him props for going on it actually.