Magical World of Make Believe

Elaine had a special visit this past Friday from the Binky Fairy. We had been talking about her impending visit since October to build Lainey up for the big event. She had seemed on-board with the whole idea until last Wednesday, when I think it finally clicked that the Binky Fairy was going to take all of her pacifiers and leave a present--not bring her new ones along with a present. Her attitude changed abruptly once this was clear to her.

Friday night, we collected all of her binkies in a basket (I let her keep one in her mouth for the final farewell). But, when we got up to her room she snatched them all, ran to her bed and laid down on top of them. Knowing this would present a problem for the Binky Fairy later, I finally coaxed her into just keeping one in her hand, one in her mouth and returning the rest to the basket. The stealthy Binky Fairy collected all five binkies a few hours later and left a Princess Sofia doll in their place. The night didn't go very smoothly and Lainey ended up in our bed, but she hasn't so much as asked for a binky since. Guess the Binky Fairy could have come sooner.

Keeping with the theme of magical beings who come bearing gifts, I helped Lainey pen her very first letter to Santa on Saturday (see below). I think her list is a reasonable, although I question the integrity of her opening statement. Of course, the term "awhile" leaves wide room for interpretation. Using Santa as a disciplinary aid hasn't really worked on our girl. Last night when I asked if she was going to be on Santa's good list or bad list, she proudly told me she was on the "bad" list, said "guess no presents for me" and happily went on about her business. I probably shouldn't invoke the "lump of coal" threat anyway, since her behavior would have to get pretty extreme before I would follow through on it. I was just hoping to buy a few easy outs during the holiday season. Maybe the Easter Bunny will have more impact on her...

Crayon colors chosen by Lainey

Amoxicillin...Music to My Ears

Never in my wildest thoughts would I have imagined feeling relief at the diagnosis of a double ear infection. But after a stressful and worrisome 48 hours when Nick suddenly refused to eat and we thought his RSV had made a resurgence and escalated to pneumonia, I was almost happy to hear the news. Ear infections can be treated. Ear infections I know and understand. I expect to have another bumpy night tonight, but tomorrow the antibiotics should start bringing him (and me) some relief. He'll take his last dose Christmas morning. That's all the gift I need. 

Quick Hits

I would love nothing more than to spend some quiet time typing away a updates on our world, but I am incredibly tired from an incredibly long 2 1/2 weeks as our poor Nick has fought eye infections, an ear infection, impetigo, and RSV, which after slight improvement seems to be worsening. I think we'll be back to our favorite weekend destination, Town & Country Pediatrics, tomorrow--wouldn't be a weekend without it.

But, there have been some great happenings amidst the prescriptions, ointments, inhalers, and boogie wipes. There are two major milestones in particular that need to be documented in this chronicle of my children's lives...

1. Elaine is potty trained!!! I thought the progress we had made was going to completely fall apart over the trip to Ohio and the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving. But, our girl chose the time to ditch the pull-ups and embrace her big girl undies (Disney Princesses and Elmo). She's still wearing a diaper at night and has had a few accidents, but we're super proud of her! Go Lainey!
2. Nick is crawling!!! He finally progressed past his army crawl and got up on those hand and knees last Saturday. The wood floors slip him up a bit, so he still prefers to slither than crawl, but I'm officially marking this off his developmental check list. And we are officially overdue for baby proofing this place. Nick's been very helpful in showing us where we need improvement in that department. Like when Mark innocently left his steaming hot cup of coffee on the floor and turned his back for 5 seconds. Nick came very close to adding a scalded hand to his list of ailments. 

And that is where I leave you tonight dear friends. My bed is calling my name.

I've Still Got It

After a challenging few weeks with way too many work hours, much too little sleep, and a very sick baby boy (who finally seems to be on the mend), I had a much deserved girls night out on Saturday. The group was smaller than our usual holiday dinner, but, while I missed some faces, it was nice to have an intimate group where everyone could talk collectively. Our awesome planner for the evening, Kristen, picked a great spot, Bento Box,with a prix fixe, chef's choice menu. After a long hiatus from any grown-up evenings in the city, it was just what the doctor ordered.

But, as much as I enjoyed the food and the company, I'll admit my favorite part of the evening was at the bar across the street before anyone had even shown up. As I sat waiting for my lovely, female companions for the evening, an adorable, if somewhat (okay very) inebriated, guy sidled up to my table and tried hitting on me. Of course, I made it known that I was married with two beautiful children, but it still felt nice to get noticed (and by a guy, whom I suspect was quite a bit younger than me). Plus, he was a complete sweetheart and very appropriate, so no harm done. We ended up talking about whether or not he should try online dating or if that was creepy. Good luck to you bar guy, whose name I can't remember!

This Saturday is Mark's night out with the guys...let's see if some young thing tries to pick him up (or maybe not).

I Have Blessings...

I don't know if there is a thing as a stress-free holiday, but I wouldn't mind trying it out sometime. Our trip to Ohio hasn't been smooth sailing, and I was feeling a little "woe is me" earlier today, but I took a deep breath and remembered that I am blessed to have...

• A crying baby at 2:00 AM who won't go back to sleep and a 2-year-old who crawls into bed with me and proceeds to kick me for the two hours available for sleeping. Because it means I also have days with a giggling baby, who looks at me with adoring eyes and a 2-year-old who can't stop hugging me and saying she loves me. 

• Ample access to medical care...even on the holidays. Thank you urgent care (for treating Nick's ear infection) and bless our 24-hour on-call pediatricians (for talking me through his hive outbreak). Although one of these days, I would love to get through a holiday without either of you,  there are other mothers who would give up every holiday for the rest of their lives from the promise of access to a doctor for their babies. 

• A stomachache from eating too much and frustration trying to fit all the leftovers into the fridge. There are millions of people starving right now and would be happy to help make my life a little easier by solving my food storage problems for me. 

So, yeah, life can disappoint and things don't always live up to my expectations, but at the end of the day, I don't have much to complain about. I have blessings all around.

My Biggest Blessings of All! Happy Thanksgiving!

8 Months Old!

Nick is two-thirds of a year old! Which is terrifying to me, because these last eight months have gone by in a blink, so that means he's going to be one way too soon. But, for now he's still me sweet roly-poly baby boy!

Nick is officially on the move, so it's time to start baby proofing some things and paying better attention to what's within reach. He's not crawling on his hand and knees, but does a mean army crawl and is pretty speedy with it. He also can get back to a sitting position from him stomach

He's very vocal and has moved on from his "dadadadada" sounds to the much coveted "mamamama," which means I have a shot at his first word!

To commemorate eight months, I tried for a clip of him army crawling, but Lainey kept video bombing it. So, enjoy a clip of him laughing instead:

So, THIS is What Adults Talk About...

Sometimes I get to do fun things through my job. My company has a table for a series of Global Leader luncheons with varioius speakers. Some are great; some are boring. Yesterday, was a great one with Chris Matthews as the guest speaker. At first, I was a little bummed, because Tom Brokaw was supposed to speak and had to cancel, but I think I enjoyed Matthews' speech and subsequent Q&A much more than I would have Brokaw's (and we got a free, signed copy of his book Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked.)

The book is about the relationshop between Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill and how even though they were complete ideological opposites, they managed to work together and get things accomplished. Now, I was just a wee girl during that administration and haven't particularly studied it in-depth, so I'm taking Matthews at his word that things indeed got accomplished (outside of little stuff like ending the Cold War). Matthews' critiqued our current political leadership and their inabaility to do anything other than name call (and he was completely hilarious, doing so). If you know anything about Chris Matthews, you know he's liberal, but he was just as harsh on Obama as he was Boehner. He just ended his diatribe on Obama's inability to assemble a cohesive leadership structure in his administration by saying "and I like the guy." Boehner didn't get that hedge.

I won't go into a recap of recent Capital Hill showdowns or an editorial on why our governement is broken, because I think, left, right or moderate, most people agree we've got a pretty big problem on our hands and are sick of watching our elected officials not do their jobs. What I really want to write about is how much I enjoy going to these events--whether it's someone as recognizable as Matthews or the CEO of Archer Daniels Midland, whom I'd never heard of, but gave an incredibly thought-provoking talk on global food production and demand.  These talks give me a chance to think and feel like an educated adult. I rarely get to watch the news anymore and only occasionally find the time to scan a newspaper, so I often find myself feeling really dumb and unaware in group conversations these days. One could argue that I could be reading up on current events right now instead of writing this post, and it would be a valid point. But, this blog gives me a little creative outlet and I really enjoy keeping it. I'd rather be clueless on the latest in Syria, but have cute Halloween pictures of Nick and Lainey posted for my family and friends. So, my co-workers may not get dazzled with my insights on chemical weapon disarmament, but my loved ones get to see Nick as Eeyore. It's all about choices, friends.

So, I'll take my slivers of intellectual stimulation when they are conveniently offered to me and get the rest of my news from the Daily Show playing in the background as I fall asleep at night. Perfectly acceptable.

I am looking forward to reading the book,though. Just as soon as I get to Night Film by Marisha Pessl and NW by Zadie Smith...and finish Anna Karenina. I am embarrassed to say I started AK about a week before Nick was born. He will be eight months old next Friday. Again, choices my friends, choices.