How Long Can This Love Last?

With a chest X-ray this morning, it's official that Little Miss has pneumonia. Again. Fortunately, we caught it very early - the doctor didn't even hear anything in her lungs and it was fortunately still very small. That said, I think we're done with dairy for at least a couple weeks until she recovers. Coincidence that in 18 months being dairy free she didn't get so much as a cold and two months into reintroducing dairy she has pneumonia?

We are again home, and I have a short respite right now while Little Miss takes a nap. This is her third day home, and it's really starting to hit home to him that she's seriously sick and missing out on things.

This morning as he's getting ready for school:

Mommy, can you take Little Miss's temperature so we can see if she can go to school today? he asked worriedly.

Sorry, Mister Man. With a temp of 103.6 yesterday afternoon, even if she had no fever this morning, she still isn't well enough to go to school today, I explained.

You mean she's going to miss her Halloween party at school?! he wanted to know.

Unfortunately, she is, Kiddo, I confirmed.

But it's ok, because Grandma is going to come over to our house this afternoon and have a little Halloween here for her, right?

Yep, she'll be here when we go to your friend's party and will do something fun with her.

I think I'm going to ask for extra stuff at my Halloween party at school so she can have it at home later, he decided.

That's very sweet.

And, Mommy, the cookies we're taking to Henry's (not his real name) party this afternoon, can we leave some here for her so she can have a cookie at her party, too?

Of course. Of course we can leave a cookie behind for her. I love how he worries about her and wants to take care of her all the time, but especially when she's not feeling well. These are the days where my heart swells with pride. I can only hope that as they grow older, they don't grow apart and they continue to love and respect each other the way they do now.




Current Giveaways:

Family 4 pack of tickets to Ringling Brothers in Chicago at the UC November 17 here
Family Taco Night prize pack here
Wendy's gift card here
$40 gift card to 1-800-Flowers.com here

Apples? Who Needs Apples?

Apple picking is a big part of our fall traditions, but I haven't been too good about it lately. Last year, we missed it completely. And this year? Well, you'll have to head over to The Chicago Moms to get the full story. I'm posting over there today!



Current Giveaways:

Family 4 pack of tickets to Ringling Brothers in Chicago at the UC November 17 here
Family Taco Night prize pack here
Wendy's gift card here
$40 gift card to 1-800-Flowers.com here

Cheerios: Thank Goodness I'm Home

I've been a stay at home mom (ha!) for almost exactly four months now. It's definitely been a learning process, and I keep waiting for "normal" to set in, for me to have a routine and a day to day that doesn't constantly change. I'm beginning to decide that this isn't something I will ever have, and I'm slowly becoming ok with it.

A big part of the reason I am ok with the inconsistency and the lack of routine is because of the fact that I can have inconsistency and things will still be ok. I look at this week as a perfect example of things that couldn't have happened were I still working.

On Monday, the wee ones had a birthday party immediately following school. When I was working, I needed them to come straight home, and I couldn't drive them - or their friends - places after school to do fun things. While my mom potentially could have covered for me and taken them, it was nice to go and to get to know some of the other moms in Mister Man's class better. Not having those relationships as much last year was a bit of a challenge.

Yesterday, Little Miss was sick. Instead of scrambling and trying to figure out who was taking Mister Man to school and what I was going to do with a sick Little Miss in the house while I tried to work and be on conference calls, I was able to drop everything to be with her.

When she's sick, she's needy, and I can't get anything done. I cuddled with her, played Uno with her, read books with her, worked with her on her homework, took her to the doctor, and more. I didn't write any blog posts. I didn't hang out on Twitter. I didn't even get the dishwasher emptied. I'm pretty sure that taking care of Little Miss is far more important, and I'm glad that I could be there for her.

With her being sick, she missed a gymnastics class. When I was working, we would have had to eat that class, as there was no way that I could find a time to get her to a makeup class. Gymnastics is her thing, and she loves it. The fact that she was willing to miss it was my huge clue that she was seriously sick.

Today was more of the same. I have a great person who carpools with me who was able to drive both ways, meaning I could let Little Miss sleep in and not worry about getting her moving and out the door. I again got nothing done - it's 7pm and I'm only now sitting down to write a post I had intended to write days ago - but my view of "nothing" has changed.

My getting nothing done means that I spend quality time with the wee ones and have a consistency in their routine - even if not in my own - that they thrive on. My getting nothing done means that we talk about all sorts of things, and I don't feel the need to rush to finish the conversation because I have to finish a project or get on a call. My getting nothing done means that I join my family for dinner every night instead of watching them eat while I edit a presentation or sit on a conference call.

I asked them recently if they liked it better when Mommy worked or when Mommy stays home. Hands down they were happier with me at home, and I'm happier, too - something no one should discount. My mom, especially, has mentioned that Mister Man seems to be so much more at peace and regulated than he was when I was working. While some of that is undoubtedly due to his getting older and the therapies we have him in - again, something that was a huge challenge to do when I waws working - I have to think that my being home and him having a consistent routine and parenting style makes getting through each day just a little easier for him.

I lasted six months when I tried the stay at home mom thing previously. I had the itch to do something - anything - way before then, however. Someone recently asked me if I was ready to go back to work. While I would debate whether or not I'm working raising the wee ones, the answer is a firm no. I'm not ready to take a job outside the home right now. I know where I'm needed, and my family is better and happier for it.

And that? That is worth more than any paycheck I could bring home.

***

Current Giveaways:

Family Taco Night prize pack here
Wendy's gift card here
$40 gift card to 1-800-Flowers.com here
Two Aquaphor Wonder Sets here

Tasty Tuesday!

With fall here - and more importantly, Halloween this weekend - we've been carving our pumpkins and decorating the house. And with five pumpkins to carve, we had quite a few pumpkin seeds that I didn't want to throw away.

Easiest (and yummiest) thing to do? Roast them for a great treat. Oops, and I just realized I forgot to save a few for the wee ones to plant next year. Let's hope that the great pumpkin seeds are enough of an apology for them.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:
Pumpkin seeds
Salt

Directions:
After removing the seeds from your pumpkin and separating them from the pulp, soak them overnight in water.

I know that isn't a usual step, but I never skip it. Wanna know why?

So after your seeds have soaked and the ick has gotten off, rinse the seeds under running water. Spread them in a thin layer on a jelly roll pan on a sil pat (or lightly coat them in oil or use some nonstick spray - I prefer the sil pat). Lightly sprinkle them with salt.

Roast them at 325 degrees for an hour, stirring a couple times and reapplying salt if needed. Feel free to test them at the half hour point to see how they're doing. You want them crunchy, but not brown.

Store them in a covered container after they've cooled.

Enjoy this and more with Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Blessed with Grace!



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Current Giveaways:

Family Taco Night prize pack here
Wendy's gift card here
$40 gift card to 1-800-Flowers.com here
Two Aquaphor Wonder Sets here

They're Related How Again?

I wrote recently about - and included video of - Mister Man Mister Man's love of the song Dynamite by Taio Cruz.

Last night, Mister Man was singing his new favorite song, which was news to my husband.

Fire! I'm gonna light it up. Fire, gonna make it hot. Fire! (which aren't the exact lyrics but as close to it as he gets)

So what song is that, Mister Man? my husband asked.

That's "Fire", he replied.

Oh, is that your new favorite song?

No, it's my third favorite song though, Daddy!

Ahhhh. Who sings that song? inquired my husband.

That's Taylor Swift (ummm it's not, but that's ok) who sings it. Did you know that she's related to Taylor Cruz who sings Dynamite?

Really, she is? my husband asked with raised eyebrows.

Yep, Taylor Cruz and Taylor Swift are cousins. Isn't that so cool that my favorite songs are by people who are cousins?

Ummm yeah, kiddo. It's super neat. It might be news to Taio Cruz and Taylor Swift that they're related though. Oh, and it might be news to Taylor Swift that she sings that song, too.

***

Current Giveaways:

Family Taco Night prize pack here
Wendy's gift card here
$40 gift card to 1-800-Flowers.com here
Two Aquaphor Wonder Sets here

Ewww Pumpkin Guts!

I love so many things about Fall. I love the crisp weather (so long as it's sunny, with a mild breeze and about 72 degrees) and the leaves changing colors. I love making leaf piles and jumping in them, and oh the smell of them burning! Plus there's football and Halloween and all sorts of great stuff.

Today was our official pumpkin carving day, and it was quite entertaining. I have a small pie pumpkin from the field trip I chaperoned with Mister Man. He has a similar tiny pumpkin (whoo hoo - a tiny pumpkin and a single apple for $18.50!), and Little Miss had a slightly larger pumpkin from her field trip. That simply won't do. Fortunately, Aldi had gigantic pumpkins for $1.99, so the wee ones each chose one to bring home.

The first order of business was to dry them off from the soaking they've gotten over the past day - and yes, we need the rain. My husband was in charge of finding our pumpkin carving kit. He told me that it wasn't in the Halloween bin where it belonged, which saddened me. If it isn't there, it is gone. He insisted it might be in a drawer in the kitchen and proceeded to rummage through a few despite my repeated insistence that I use the drawers often enough and keep them clean enough that they aren't there. And that something like the pumpkin carving kit doesn't just "appear" in a drawer.

He came back upstairs a few minutes later hiding a bad that contained the pumpkin carving kit. That he found in the Halloween bin. Where it belongs. Ahem.

Our kit also includes the oh so cool patterns that make for a truly awesome looking pumpkin. The wee ones each chose a design for their large pumpkins. I ignored the designs and simply began hollowing out my pumpkin for my freehand carving. I'm just fine with my just-the-same-every-year pumpkin with eyes, nose, mouth with teeth, ears, and eyebrows. And you know what? Carving a pie pumpkin is a whole lot easier to do than my usual big one.

After my husband transferred the patterns, I cut off the tops of the wee ones pumpkins. After explaining to Mister Man that either he cleaned out the inside of his pumpkin or it didn't get carved, he put aside his sensory issues and gingerly began removing the guts. (And yes, I know he has sensory issues. I know it's not easy for him, but I also know what he can do and that he needs to be pushed to realize that many things aren't as bad as he thinks they are in his mind.)

Little Miss had no such issues with her pumpkin.

While he didn't exactly enjoy cleaning out his pumpkin, he did a pretty good job of it. Once he finished, he decided he wanted my husband to do the carving of the design so it would look better rather thna doing it himself (probably a good call considering how long it took my husband to do the carving).

Instead, we began work on his little pumpkin, which he decided he also wished to carve. The top again came off, and he proceeded to clean it. This one, I made him carve himself, reinforcing that this was for fun and that he should just have fun with it because pumpkins aren't supposed to be perfect anyway.

That went well for awhile until he accidentally broke the mini-saw he's using (it works on pumpkins but it isn't sharp enough to break skin if you run it against your hand - and I was standing a foot away watching carefully). After replacing the broken saw with another one we had - yay for cheap carving kits! - he continued carving with a little help from me since he wanted to do lots of curves.

He quickly completed his and waited patiently for my husband to finish carving the big, special pumpkin. The look on Mister Man's face when he finally saw the completed product was priceless. He loved his pumpkin - and my husband insists it was worth his time (and the lack of the wee ones' involvement) for that reason alone.

Little Miss also has a very cool pumpkin carved, but by 1:20 I could see that she was fading and getting unusually crabby. I sent her upstairs for a nap, and she is currently sound asleep. If she wakes up soon, I'll add pictures of her with her pumpkin, too.



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Current Giveaways:

Wendy's gift card here
$40 gift card to 1-800-Flowers.com here
Two Aquaphor Wonder Sets here

So This Is What A Third Child Could Have Been Like...

I've talked before about the babysitting co-op my neighborhood has and how it's saved me more than once. It's such a great group of women, and it eases my mind when I need to do something sans children. I always know I have someone great who can watch the wee ones. For free.

Ahhhhhhh.

Most of the kids in the co-op are the wee ones' age or older. As with all groups, it's had its ebbs and flows. A couple of the older members with kids who are now in middle school have recently left the co-op and new members with younger children have joined.

That brings us to tonight. Previously, the children we've watched have been more like playdates than anything else. This time, we had a younger child with us. Sage (not her real name) is almost two years old, and she's cute as can be.

The wee ones haven't spent a ton of time around children that young, and before she arrived, I gave them a pep talk. She likely wouldn't listen to them. She might not play with toys they way they'd want her to. She might frustrate them. They nodded and agreed, but I wasn't sure how much of it had sunk in.

Apparently we need to do this babysitting thing more often. The wee ones had a blast, and Mister Man asked twice - twice - when he could babysit again because he loved it so much. When Sage arrived, the wee ones were in the basement uncharacteristically arguing over toys. I prepared myself for a long two hours.

Or not.

When it was time for dinner, they helped gather Sage and brought her to the kitchen. Little Miss picked up Sage (who I think may weigh more than Little Miss) and put her in her booster seat and then pushed in her chair. At the conclusion of dinner, the wee ones helped her clear her place before leading her into the bathroom to wash her hands and face.

Yes, that is Mister Man actually - and very gently - washing Sage's face.

We then headed upstairs to play. When Sage approached me with an "uh-oh" and a sock dangling from her hand, Mister Man asked if he could put it back on for her. I was impressed at how patient he was. See that huge pile of trains? Mister Man went digging into his collection of toys that he doesn't play with anymore that he thought she would like and then brought all of them for her to play with.

After that, Mister Man went in search of "age appropriate" books that he read to Sage while we waited for her Daddy to arrive to pick her up. He let her choose which book to do first and made room on his bed for her, displacing his carefully arranged animals and pillows so that she could sit comfortably.

Why do I have a feeling it wouldn't be all sunshine and roses if I actually did have a third child, though?



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Current Giveaways:

Wendy's gift card here
$40 gift card to 1-800-Flowers.com here
Two Aquaphor Wonder Sets here