Memory Lane

I was at this playground a good 15 years ago with my nephew Jordan. Today, I took Elisa and it was just as fun...

Backyard fun

This is the best part of the day. Running around the yard at sun down catching bubbles. I know she misses her friends at the park, but this helps make up for it. We love hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa in these twilight hours, sipping drinks and snacking on cheese puffs. Is there anything better?

Worth the wait...

Our trip might have been postponed, but so far, it has proved worth the wait...

In just a few short days, we've managed to go bowling, make it to the beach for a brief dip in the ocean, and celebrate Grandpa's birthday with a Mexican dinner and lots of homemade chocolate pie. Nacho has to fly back to New York City tomorrow, but I think he's going home happy that he's done most of our must-do checklist for any NC visit. We'll stay through the weekend since it took us a while longer to get here. Both girls are enjoying their time and Carolina is napping like a champ in the pack-n-play for the first time. I hope this means she'll be an easy baby on the go as the next year offers us more travel opportunities. And Elisa has weathered a few days without napping and didn't completely melt down. Yes, all in all, this is a good visit so far, and I hope to have a few more outings to make the memories last until we can get back down here.

Giving it another try

Have I mentioned how much I love mobile blogging? Right now we're checked in and waiting to board our flight to North Carolina. This is our second try since Thursday night was a no-go because of an earlier cancellation. It's never fun getting bumped, but it was the first time I'd done it with Elisa since she was old enough to know what that meant. No, we aren't going to Grandma and Grandpa's afterall. Oh, the calamity. But we bought some m&ms on the way out and that pacified her enough until we got home. So today we are back at it, and this time we have boarding passes already. Much better. So here's to another adventure with my girls--hopefully the first of many. And let's try to leave the ground this time!

EDITED TO ADD: Well, I spoke too soon. Our boarding passes proved pointless once the flight cancelled. Seems the captain called out and we were waiting for a replacement that never came. So much for sick days in the airlines. That rolled everyone to the next flight and coming back 7 hours later (with still no guarantee of getting on) just didn't sound like fun. So we're back home again and I'm wondering why this week has been so difficult to travel. Is somebody trying to tell me to stay put?

Isn't she lovely?

Even though we are still battling the crazies on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis, one smile from Elisa and I forget how much work it is to be her mom. I love you, my darling girl. Skinned nose and all.

Feeling the warmth

So the house of plague and pestilence is finally lifting after a week of strep throat and other cold and allergy ailments. I think yesterday was the low point with Nacho working the whole day leaving me to do it all, and my voice almost completely shot. But we did nothing, and went nowhere. I made popsicles, we painted and sat through too much TV. It was depressing as all get out to watch the bright day from indoors, but Elisa was still on the mend after a brief park outing on Saturday and I was too sick for much of anything. The only one who has been chipper the whole time (though she does still have a cough) is Carolina. Go figure. So today had to be different. With temps approaching 70 degrees, I bought pizza and made a beeline for our park around noon. And I wasn't disappointed.

Thankfully, it's these kind of impromptu lunches and hanging out with friends that makes passing the days so much more enjoyable. Once the weather turns nice and stays nice, we practically live at our local park. And since Carolina has been napping better in the mornings, it's easy to take her there post-nap and feed her while Elisa runs wild. After a couple of hours, we pack it in and head home for more naps. Not a bad schedule really, and one that affords me some of my own down time to recuperate. Yesterday I had to choose between napping and watching a marathon of Downton Abbey, and the latter won. Which is exactly what I'm going to do again right NOW...ah, the sweetness of doing nothing.

Strep

This is what strep throat looks like at our house:

Ugh. So the fever that never really crept too high just wouldn't go away, and today after letting her go back to school it came raging back. By nap time, Elisa was a stuffy, snotty, coughing, feverish mess. I called the pediatrician and they got us in this afternoon for a quick visit and the pronouncement that yes, indeed, this is strep. Good thing I called after THREE DAYS. Just call me Mom of the Year. I mean, I didn't even look in the poor kid's throat which was bright red and spotty staring at us in the doctor's office. I suppose my mom instincts often encourage me to ignore and just wait. And in 3 1/2 years that's been good enough most of the time. So today I was glad I felt an inkling of caution and got her in to be seen. I was a strep throat veteran by 9 or 10, so I'm guessing this is the first of many sore throats. Now it's time for some antibiotics and rest. Sweet, sweet rest.

Spring fever

Even though Elisa was running a slight fever last night, we had to make the most of this gorgeous day. With temps in the low 70s for the first time all year, it was too nice to sit inside and nurse our colds. We've all had something going around for a few weeks now, but just can't seem to shake it for good. Once Elisa clears up, Carolina is coughing. If Nacho's ears are feeling better, my throat is getting sore. It's a hazard of having small children, I suppose, that they are incubators of disease. But man, they still need to be entertained even when they're not 100%. So today we took off for Gantry Plaza State Park along the river to let the sunshine heal us all...