on the mend

The Ouisers are finally on the mend. In fact, yesterday was the first day that S didn't wake up crying. She's still got a pretty short fuse, but it's tolerable. Plus, her eyes finally look like she's feeling like herself. An entire week of a sick kid is a little much, I'm not going to lie. Especially when it forces you to cancel long awaited plans for visiting much missed friends. We would've been rotten company, though, so it worked out for the best.

The big news around here is that Christmas has arrived, and S has taken after her daddy. The kid is loving her some Christmas. We went over to my dad's Friday and she helped decorate their Christmas tree and the small tree they bought for her. She's also developed an obsession with snow globes. And we've been rocking out to Christmas music, especially this. It's going to be great.

But now... now we must get dressed and head over to Mellie Mellie's house. There is a large Christmas tree waiting to be adorned.

has anyone seen my sanity?

Where to even begin?? The past seven days have been utterly crazy. Actually, I think last Monday was really pleasantly calm. But then Tuesday showed up. Here's the rundown:

• Tuesday we headed northwest to Cadiz, KY to help Feathernester move some things to the new lake cottage. I don't actually think we provided any help because with my "help" comes the "help" of my daughter, which is decidedly unhelpful. Either way, let's just say that the day at the lake ended for us with a backed up septic system flooding a bathroom and leaking through the ceiling after yours truly turned on the dishwasher. I hightailed it out of there with both of the toddlers, leaving Feathernester with peace and quiet, a lovely view of the lake, and the stench of a backed-up septic system. No one can accuse me of being a bad friend. So, that day was a little nuts.
• Wednesday was my first PT appointment for my back, and it was mind-blowing. As it turns out, I've been doing things all wrong. There is, I now know, a huge difference between a straight or flat back and a neutral spine, and neutral spine is what I've needed to achieve. So, my brain is still processing that one. Wednesday night also saw the Ouisers heading out to the Springsteen concert. Traffic was a bit of a mess, but we found a seemingly great parking spot, we paid the meter, and we headed off in search of dinner. There was a lot of walking and a lot of my refusing to wait for tables at restaurants I didn't really want to eat at. So, we hit SATCo, which was great, and we ran into the Opry gift shop after we ate where we picked up a Christmas gift for ToddlerTamer's J. We were heading back to the car to stash the gift before the show, and our heart rates jumped as we looked down 4th Avenue toward the Honda. There were a lot of flashing lights and a couple of tow trucks, one of which was in the process of hauling off a car that looked a lot like a 2001 silver Honda Accord. So, yeah, our car got towed. We spoke to the police officers and they had the tow truck guy give us a lift to the impound lot. All we could do was laugh. I mean, hey...at least we caught on to our car being towed then and not after the concert. So, as they were unloading our car, we were paying to get it back. Ninety-five dollars later, we were on our way back to Sommet Center. In addition to being stoked that we got the car back before the show, we found it terribly exciting that we saved the Metro storage fee ($20) that we would've been charged after the show...and the cab fare to get us there. All in all, if you're going to get your car towed for failing to read signs, you should do it Ouiser-style. We finally got to the show, and Bruce started an hour late, so we didn't miss anything. He played my favorite*, Thunder Road, and M's favorite, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, so it was great.
  
• Thursday was CKMH play date day, and we had a blast. It was a great day all around.
• Friday was another great day for us, though L was sick, so there was no zoo-going. Instead, we made yoga-pies** on the stump in the front yard and played circus and then went to the farm for lunch.
  
• Saturday morning, we painted pottery with my fam, and S thought it was great. She wasn't actually interested in being thorough, so I am very interested in what her creations will look like. Very interested. Then we went to lunch with our peeps, and I could tell that S was feeling less-than-stellar. She didn't want to eat, and she didn't want to sit with grandma or either or her aunts. She was clinging to me like white on rice. She began running a fever that evening, and I ended up sleeping with her all night. It was, needless to say, a long night.
• Yesterday was an entire day filled with princess movies watched on the couch or in the bed. Lots of water. Lots of Tylenol. S's fever has stayed in the 101-102.5 range. She puked up her pack of gummies (the ONLY thing she ate all day). She slept pretty well last night. I only had to go up at 330 when she was crying for a drink of water.
• Today she's back on the couch and we're heading to the doctor in a couple of hours because she puked again and that fever is still kicking her tail. Now M has a sore throat and my head is seriously stopped up. The Ouisers are not in great shape, but doggone it, I am determined to get us all well in time to leave on our trip on Wednesday. Determined.

Okay, that is all. The kid on the couch needs her mama.

*I have consistently claimed two favorite songs since I was fifteen-years-old. Thunder Road by Springsteen and This Time of Year by Better than Ezra. These are unwaveringly my favorite songs, and if I died tomorrow, I would like them played at my funeral. Along with a little Elvis.
**Yummy, yummy yoga pie.

she's a winner

S has a new favorite phrase. M has said it to her occasionally, and now she says it a LOT. Without further ado, the phrase is, "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner." It's hysterical.

That is all I have to say about that.

Beyond that, it has been lovely to have Mr. Ouiser home again. He's been gone so often lately, that yesterday I kept waiting for him to start packing. Then I remembered that he's home this week. We've been able to do things as a family for a couple of days, and that is insanely wonderful. I'm amazingly thankful for that simple act of being together.

Here are a couple of pictures of our weekend. Have a great Monday, peeps.

And, um, how 'bout those Colts. Woot.

Before walking to Mellie's Friday morning.
On our way to Fancy Nancy story time on Saturday.

what a day.

Today has been great. Really. Exhausting, but great.

We went to play with Feathernester and L this morning, then we all went to Reading Rock for story time and a CKMH (Cute Kids of McCreary Heights...McCreary Heights is our 'hood) play date. It was a blast, and S and L and their friends SR, AS, and BW had crazy fun. At the end of the stories, S, L, and AS were literally running in circles around another child as if said child was a maypole. Hysterical to us, maybe not to the mama of that kid, so we made them stop. The kiddos then ran wild around the store for a bit, then we all came back here for lunch and playing. Mamas sat and ate, kids played. Totally fun.

Now S is napping while I make a cannellini bean and pork stew for dinner. Then I have to take Abbe shopping for Mellie Mellie's birthday, which is tomorrow. Then there will be more playing with L. I have a hunch S and I will both crash hard this evening. Well, I know I will.

And tomorrow? Tomorrow M finally comes home from Boston. Finally. Thank goodness. Until next time, peeps...

what gives?

So, I'm here. Me and my crappy back. I've essentially been in the bed for five days, and I am totally stir crazy. I watched three movies yesterday. I've read two very long novels and most of another book. I've napped...and I've stared at the ceiling, thinking of all the things I would prefer to be doing. I am very fortunate to have family and friends who've willingly cared for my child since M has been out of town all but one day of my convalescence. So, here are all of the random things I've been going over in my head.

• Val Kilmer's career peaked when he starred in The Doors. That was one of the movies that I watched yesterday. Also, Jim Morrison was way more captivating than Val Kilmer.
  
• Away We Go is an awesome, awesome movie. For grown-ups. Little sisters, stay away.
• Phillipa Gregory should do me a favor and stop writing books. Please. (She reads my blog, right?)
• Robert Pattinson is pretty. Check out Vanity Fair. Oy.
• Today, when I could no longer stand being in the house (and I did actually have to leave the house due to an utter lack of coffee beans), I ventured out. S has needed some new panties, so I hit the Wal-Mart. (Gasp.) I am terribly saddened by the fact that I cannot buy my daughter's undies in the toddler section. I had to go to the GIRLS section and buy her undies next to the training bras. She must stop growing. Must. I am not prepared for this. If there are thong options the next time I have to buy her panties, I will cry. Right in the store. Real tears.
  
• I am hoping that Yum and my hubby had a yummy dinner last night. I am hungry.
  
• I am anxiously awaiting Thanksgiving. Anxiously.

I'll leave you with a couple of pics of our Friday afternoon. The weather was lovely.

S, playing under the table...there were dolls and quilts and stickers and crayons and all manner of fun for a two-year-old.
Then there was mama's fun. Coffee and Bill Bryson...too bad you can't see the heating pad.

princess on high.

While S was at school today, I picked up the rails for her princess bed. Around here, that means her big girl bed. She's been sleeping on the mattress for about a week, but I had to wait on the rails for the bed. Then I had to make a separate trip out for bolts, but whatever. So...S is currently resting in her new princess bed, and she is way, way up there. Her bed is so tall that I have to exert effort to climb onto it. It's a solid six inches higher than my bed. Wowsers. Now if I could just get around to making her quilt...which is all cut and ready to be sewn. Someday...

That's been the excitement around here today. The assembly of a princess bed. It's a pretty low key life around here. Tomorrow we're heading to Chattanooga for the day to visit Hil. Now, that...that will be exciting. Watch out, world.

walkin' the plank

Halloween has come and gone. So sad for S. Luckily, we've had birthdays to celebrate everyday since, so she's been occupied. I mean, there's been cake, people. She'll be okay. She is, however, terribly vexed because someone has stolen our pumpkins. They left the jack-o-lanterns and the mini pumpkin that my mini pumpkin drew all over, but all the rest are MIA. They weren't smashed anywhere that we can find, so someone just stole them. Some other friends had their pumpkins ganked, too, so I think I may have isolated the culprits. I'll keep you all posted.

In the meantime, if my daughter asks you where our pumpkins have gone, the story is that they went home after Halloween.

Trick-or-treating was a success. Our little pirate was awesome and way hopped up on sugar. Here are some pictures of the big day. Have a great Tuesday, peeps.