Yay for Summer, Fever, and "I Got Worms" (movie line anyone?)...

It's the first day we've been able to wear short sleeves and short pants for 3 days in a row! Yippee. I don't want to jinx it, but could it be that summer is actually near?

These are Ben's latest thing. Worms. I have mentioned it before, but not really emphasized the real PASSION he has for them. He LOVES collecting them. He digs for them, and consequently has gotten our poor 9 and 11 year old neighbor girls and their 5 year old little bro. to join the fun as well,) and names them either "Wormy" or "Jackson" - Jackson is always their middle name. And he finds teeny baby ones and calls them "Adorable". That's a strange definition of adorable if you ask me. I don't know if you can tell, but in that little bucket is probably no less than 20 worms. All with the same name, but they're various relatives to each other. Often he'll find Wormy's mom or dad, or baby brother. It's kind of funny, because in the last few weeks, he's probably killed at least as many worms as are in his bucket right now - and because he insists on keeping them as pets, (isn't it strange that he's such a little BOY?) these ones will undoubtedly die too. It's like one big love-filled worm genocide out here at the Worthington household. His favorite thing is to hold them, while they crawl all over his hands and arms, then he curls them up in a ball in his hand, shake them a little bit - YUCK! (That's usually where they die...)

But while Ben is out celebrating warmth and worms with our next door neighbor boy Jake, (his new best bud.) Poor Spence is inside doing this:

The poor kid has been crying since last night. And if you know his temperament, you know that is SOOOO NOT like him. When I put him to bed last night, I noticed that he had a fever, and he's had it since. I thought he might have an ear infection because he pulled on his ear a little, but I've never seen him like this. He's only been diagnosed with one other ear infection - and that was when I went to a well-check, the doctor looked in his ear and told me he had an infection - but there were NO other symptoms. So, to have him so upset is disturbing. He even woke up in the middle of the night, (which honestly NEVER happens,) and cried for like, an hour. So, I went to the doctor this morning, and sure enough, it's the stupid ear infection. That's the only thing they can figure. I HATE antibiotics though, my kids always get pretty bad diarrhea with it, (well, Ben's never techinically been on anti's - but I had to have them once when I was nursing, and well, there you go - Ben's had diarrhea from them). I sometimes think, "which is worse?" Constant crying, or being up to my ears in poop? Then I remember the boils that the kids get on their bums from the diarrhea, and then of course, there's no contest. Bummer. Literally. Okay, I know that was dumb. Here's to hoping my happy little baby returns soon! And that winter doesn't.