For the past two days I’ve been dealing with this:

Yeah, it’s really one hundred times more unpleasant than it looks. It all started yesterday afternoon after lunch. The itching suddenly came on but I thought nothing of it. By midday it was a full on rash – everywhere. I suddenly had patches of welts all over my back, stomach, chest, neck and it was moving toward my arms.

I tried to think of what it could be an allergic reaction to but there was nothing unusual about what I ate or put on externally. The only thing that I think it could remotely be is the vinegar that my mom and I had with our cucumbers and tomatoes. I am sure I’ll be able to find out soon enough if it was the vinegar, as I don’t plan on giving that up.

So, I finally broke down and took Benadryl at about 9 p.m. last night and hit the hay. I slept through about six a.m. and woke up to a hives-free bod. I was happy.

We went running around today running to the bank to open my new business account (which I actually DO have some business money to fund), dropping off a carseat bag to a friend to use on vacation, going shoe shopping for the boys (who each scored two pairs from the Stride Rite sale), and finally, lunch at my mom’s FAVORITE barbecue joint (and mine!)

Upon getting home this afternoon, the hives were at it again. It started small but then by about 4 p.m. it was so unbearable. Even worse than yesterday. My mom insisted by this point that I go see a doctor. I admit, I was avoiding that so as to dodge a shot. But, I was SO uncomfortable that the itching was ridiculous by that point, so I decided to go.

Turns out, I do actually have hives although I don’t think we’ll ever really find out what caused them. The doc did state that stress is a factor and well, seeing as how I have a LOT on my mind right now, isn’t totally out of the question. I also took a strep test because I was dealing with that sore throat all last week. That was negative, thank God. So, I walked out with a handful of samples of Zyrtec and a prescription to help with whatever my immune system is trying to fight off, so as to counteract the hives. I will start on the script tomorrow morning because it can tend to cause hyperactivity in some. (Yeah, I really don’t need to be up all night tonight.)

So, today’s been such a long day that I am surprised I’ve mustered up the energy to even write this. Nighty-night.