Rough waters ahead...

Sometimes, I feel like my life should be a script for a soap opera.

I'm trying not to be in a "poor me" mood today, but I'm only having moderate success at this.  I apologize in advance if this gets whiny, I'm really not trying to whine.

Miss Sunshine lost yet another ear tube recently.  The same ear we have had difficulty with all along.  She goes back to Shriner's for her cleft clinic at the end of this month, and I know this means another surgery, minor as it may be, for us.  Perhaps we will get lucky and there will be no fluid, but based on her behaviors since the tube fell out, I have a sneaking suspicion luck is not going to be on our side with this one.  I'm pretty sure her other tube will need to be replaced as well - it does not look like it is sitting correctly in her eardrum any longer.   I'm hoping this time they will go with a more permanent type of tube (it is similar to a metal grommet, rather than the plastic tubes they have been using up to now).  I know that going this route means a later surgery to remove those tubes and then a graft to patch her ear drum, but I'd really rather do that than have to continue with replacing her tubes every six months as we have been now.  Especially since she may need them up to the age of seven or eight years old.

Monster Boy has been having his own set of problems.  He has some of the most sensitive skin I have ever encountered (and I have fairly sensitive skin myself).  We went to the lake this weekend and I slathered him in sunscreen, as I am supposed to do.  He was fine the first hour or so of sun time.  And then he broke out into an awesome rash.  Head to toe.  And still has it.  The doctor told us to use his prescription hydrocortisone cream (did I mention he has really sensitive skin) to help with the rash and let him know if it doesn't clear up in a few days.  We are tossing around the possibility of him having something called Photoallergic eruption.  Essentially, it's an allergy that is created by a combination of some chemicals and sunlight.  Alone, without both components, he is not allergic to these items.  But combined, he is.  And we have no way of knowing WHAT chemical might be the trigger, although it is apparent that it is something found in sunscreen.  We are going to try out an all natural sunscreen to see if that works.  I do know that he can play outside without sunscreen with no issue.  And I can put sunscreen on him, but he won't have a reaction until he is outside with it on.  So I really have no idea what to do there.

As for Daddy Mac and I, well, relationship wise, things are great.  Unfortunately, our car engine blew this weekend.  And it's a twelve year old car - not really worth replacing the engine in.   Sigh.  We had been talking about buying a newer vehicle, but that was still about a year down the road.  Now we have to figure out a way to make it work before we were ready.  So, it's budget review time.  Because we have to squeeze a car payment out of somewhere.  Ah, well.  It will all work out in the end, or at least I'm holding out faith that it will.