Climbing the Walls!

After a long, rainy, housebound Saturday, I was desperate to get out of the house. Where we went was unimportant, as long as it was a change of scenery. Pat and I agreed upon some trivial errands and a visit to the Starbucks drive-thru. As we suited up the kids in shoes, jackets, hats and gloves, Evan asked "Why are we leaving?"

Without really thinking through my response, I said, "Because Mommy is climbing the walls."

Evan's response?

"Mommy, you shouldn't do that! It's dangerous!"

Ear Infection Number 6

Yes, that's right, since February of this year Eli has had 6 ear infections. He had a brief break over the summer, but now that Fall is in full gear - so are the ear infections. His last ear infection was so recent that he finished the last round of antibiotics 2 weeks ago today. It's been so frustrating on so many levels. First of all, no one wants to see their baby suffer - most especially me. But secondly, little Eli with his fiery red haired temper refuses to suffer alone. He is irritable and aggressive; he looses his appetite; and worse of all - he can't sleep. I can handle the bad behavior and the lack of appetite but the lack of sleep is maddening. Pat and I stumble through our days until we can get an appointment with the pediatrician and the antibiotics can kick in. Meanwhile, the poor little bugger gets so angry sometimes that he won't even let us come near him.

Luckily, we have ear tube surgery scheduled for Thursday. I can hardly wait! Evan had it done two and half years ago and has not had an ear infection since. I am cautiously optimistic that we will be as lucky with Eli. Of course, the tired nay-sayer in me, thinks that this may not be the end. But I really, really hope we can put this chapter of our lives behind us.

Evan's first Jack O-Latern

Evan insisted it be a "Scary" pumpkin. He drew the eyes and the "scary mouth with teeth"all by himself. This may not seem like such a big deal, but before he began school, he didn't understand the concept of drawing the features on a face. Now he likes to draw faces for fun. He'll fill a whole page with faces - some scary and some happy. But of course, this pumpkin had to be scary.

Pat and I split the carving duty. Then, much to Evan's delight I roasted the seeds. So yesterday evening we turned out the lights and watched the pumpkin while munching on freshly roasted pumpkin seeds. Even Eli liked the pumpkin - although he passed on the seeds.

Since the carving, the pumpkin has become the centerpiece of our dining room table. Evan likes to go into the dinning room in the dark and watch it glow as often as we'll let him. The best part is, we still have 3 pumpkins to carve! I'm trying to save a couple for Thanksgiving centerpieces, but since Evan is so excited about his Jack-O-Latern, I'm thinking Evan should "carve" at least one more!