The gift that keeps on giving...

So after I fought off (so I thought) my own case of conjunctivitis, poor little Aden came down with it. Once he had fought off his nasty infection, I woke up with one eye completely swollen shut. Not crusted shut... SWOLLEN shut (I'll spare you pictures because trust me when I say that it is not a good look). Luckily, Amy knows an amazing opthamologist who just gives out his home phone number and works eye emergencies into his schedule without blinking an... eye (sorry about that). By 9am, I was in the exam room. Most likely, my pink eye somehow managed to infect my eyelid. He gave me more drops and (fingers crossed), I'll look less like a boxer and more like an over-worked working Mama by the end of the weekend. I've become accustomed to the persistent dark circles under my eyes, but this is ridiculous!

Happy Halloween!

Much to my surprise... Charlie Ann was a ballet dancer and/or pixie (minus the wings she refused to wear) and Aden was Peter Pan! If you had asked me yesterday, I would have told you (quite confidently) that Charlie Ann was going to be a fierce lion, the Mr. was going to be a lion tamer, Aden was going to be a frog, and I was going to be a princess (you know like the frog and the princess). I'd even had the littles wear their costumes a time or two to be sure they were comfortable and such. However, we woke up on Halloween to a very warm day. It was balmy in fact. Their costumes (chosen in part due to the fact that they would be warm and cozy), were simply not going to work. So at 5:00, I dug into the dress ups and the Mr. and I decided to wear the necklaces that we have been working on this weekend for the Day of the Dead. We headed over to a friends house for some trick-o-treating, yummy food, Halloween cocktails, and very good company. We ended the night with a stroll over the Haw River foot bridge to take in the glow of the pumpkins and big moon. It really was magic...

Bookmarks to my day...

The day started with Charlie Ann handing me a poop filled diaper as she greeted me in the dim morning light. This is not how I like to start my day. In the process of cleaning it up, Charlie, Aden, and I all somehow wound up with poop on our hands.

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The day ended with Aden taking a massive shit in the bathtub (the kid does this at least once a month... WTF?!). This is not a pleasant way to end the day. Charlie and I are both getting pretty wary of sharing baths with the boy.

Field trip...

We joined Charlie Ann's class to a local farm for a fall field trip! I had to leave before we got to the horses and pony rides (Charlie Ann chose not to ride a pony), but I did get to enjoy some sweet potato digging and chicken feeding! I was grateful to have my morning flex time in order to join in on some of the fun...

15 months...

Dear Aden,

A month ago, you were just beginning to take a few tentative steps here and there... and now you are all but running. It has been so much fun watching you gain confidence in your (still wobbly) stride. You toddle all over the house and yard. You used to so contentedly watch the world go by from the vantage point of the grocery store cart or stroller... but no longer! You want to be down on the ground in the thick of it... the master of your own destiny. And you absolutely resent being told where to go on your little adventures. A walk to the mailbox would take days if I didn't at some point pick up your protesting body and walk a few feet in the right direction. You zig zag all over, stop to touch anything that catches your eye (aka everything), and have been known to literally walk in circles. It makes me crazy... and then I take a deep breath. I appreciate how new this whole world of walking is for you and try to give you enough time and space to revel in your new skill and perspective. Our lives are way too busy and hectic and I try hard to be grateful for and respectful of you and your journey. Toddlers are one great big lesson in Zen Buddhism.

Tonight as I was cleaning up the dinner dishes, you and your sister were playing together. First, she was chasing you around the house catching you by the foot of your pajamas... causing you to laugh (and only occasionally cry) hysterically. Then she pulled the cushions off our living room chairs and created a couple of make-shift trampolines. You bounced on and off the chairs, traded places back and forth, and rolled around on the pillows strewn about the living room floor giggling all the while. It was such a pleasure to watch the two of you play with each other and delight in each other's company. It isn't always easy for you two to get along (just this morning she slammed your finger in the bedroom door), but I am finding that you can entertain each other for longer stretches between the meltdowns. I'm finding that your bond with each other is one of the greatest joys in my life... that and your delicious Buddha belly and scrumptious feet and big eyes!

Love,
Mama

Dr. JLo...

Auntie Janet came for a visit this weekend! Janet is a friend who lives a very busy life half way across the country, but the second we sit down together with a bottle of wine and a handful of chocolate, it is like she never left (though it does make me miss her all the more)! We stayed up way too late catching up and then the minute we got up the next morning, she began spoiling my kids rotten! I absolutely trust this woman's judgement... so it isn't surprising that she managed to convince me to let her give Charlie Ann a Barbie (a black barbie of course). With or without corrupting presents, she holds a very special place in our hearts!

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And then today I saw Charlie Ann pretending that her Barbie doll was nursing her Ariel doll (who is pretty much a miniature Barbie doll with red hair and a mermaid tail)... and I was so proud!

Barbie's boobs are apparently for babies!

Casa de conjunctivitis!

Sick day of the week... number two! This time it's pink eye... good times!

Actually, it has worked out great. This morning, the Mr. took Charlie Ann to school while Aden and I headed out to the minute clinic to get my little problem taken care of with some goopy eye ointment. I was told not to return to work until tomorrow morning. So Aden and I headed home and played. Then we picked up Charlie Ann, got our chimney swept, and have had a jolly good day (except for the gross eyes of course). I do believe Mary Poppins is in order tonight!

Pig tails...
Watching the chimney guys (the vacuum was loud)...