I will never be one of those people who wonders what stay at home Moms do all day. (Don't think they're out there? You don't read as many Mom blogs as I do.)
What I can't help but wonder is how in the hell they ever take a shower.
And forget working out. The other day it took me 3.5 hours to get in about 22 minutes of cardio. Only pure stubbornness kept me and Jillian Michaels going.
We're on day 6 of a sick Ford. Seth picked him up Wednesday from daycare upon notification of an ear infection (Finley never had one, so we weren't on the lookout), and even after I spent both work-at-home days hanging out with him instead of doing any actual working (or working out), he got worse instead of better.
In the meantime, we pulled off a truly crazy juggling act to still manage a work dinner for Seth, Finley's harvest festival,
and the aftermath of the Great Bear Eradication of 2016. (Seth finally got to go hunting, and killed a big black bear with his bow. Which may or may not have been the one that has been terrorizing our neighborhood. I've learned it's better not to ask these sorts of questions.) A couple trips to a remarkably efficient processor later, Seth and Finley kicked off the week with bear sausages. Yeehaw.
By Friday I was starting to get major sick baby cabin fever. Thankfully, Michelle sent cupcakes
and Seth took Ford so Finley and I could have a date night. I'm pretty certain I never pictured a Friday night date involving a Target run and a trip to Chili's, but it was hilarious. And I have always had a soft spot for the molten lava cakes. I was pleased to see that the apple doesn't fall from the tree there. (Not that many toddlers turn down gooey chocolate and their own spoon.)
The weekend weather took a sudden turn for the warm and sunny after a cold, blustery week stuck indoors, and we got in a family hike through Bear Mountain and to the Bear Mountain Zoo. The highlight was obviously Seth's reciprocated turkey calls, which both Finley and the turkeys loved, and which attracted quite a crowd. (For some reason, that I neglected to photograph, but I took like ten shots of them looking at the swans.)
And poor Ford, who had been sleepless for days, racked out in Finley's Tula, to her eternal indignation and my fervent relief.
We enjoyed a much-needed weekend at home, and got stuff done around the house. Seth took the kids for a couple hours while I skated out for a much-needed trail run, and watched Army football with friends up the hill while Finley and I went to the nature museum for some outside time
and stopped by Jones Farm, where a Very Aggressive Chicken snatched this cookie out of her hand just seconds after this photo was taken. Finley, while shrieking in terror, somehow managed to snatch it back. And shove it back in her mouth.
It's possible that I have never been more proud.
By Monday, Ford was hacking and coughing and looked like death warmed over. Daycare was definitely not going to take him. I couldn't afford to skip class and was panicky. As usual, though, the guy who rarely does laundry, can't find the cooking utensils, and never, ever (did I mention ever?) gets up with kids in the middle of the night... came through in a huge way when the chips were down.
He simply scooped up Ford and the travel pack & play, inquired when his next bottle was due, and took the little guy to work with him. On Sports Fanatic Day, no less (don't ask), in a matching jersey. Ford apparently took meetings, napped in the corner, and prevented everybody from getting anything done otherwise. (I was reminded of the time I came down with meninigitis just hours before Seth was due to leave for his grandfather's funeral, and he matter-of-factly secured an infant ticket and took a tiny Finley and a cooler of frozen milk with him.)
I'll put in an awful lot of wee morning hours for a guy who simply does what needs to be done in a pinch, and always comes through for his kids.
Naturally, West Point (aka Stepford) displayed zero concern for families with two working parents, and scheduled Halloween festivities for 3:30 on Monday. We muddled through, the kids nearly froze to death, the fire truck parade was an hour late (and, apparently, terrifying), and Finley hated trick or treating. But she loved giving out (and sampling) candy, and her Sheriff Callie costume. Also, she discovered tootsie roll pops. And Ford tolerated the duck costume.
I kept a still-sick Ford home again today, having arranged to cut class, and thought "well, why not?" and kept Finley home too. Turned out to be a treat to get a day at home with them. We cooked up a storm, played at the park, and finally got Ford some decent antibiotics after securing a bronchiolitis diagnosis (but not before Finley terrorized the doctor's office, insisting on stripping and covering herself in stickers while we waited.)
Also, she apparently learned how to take selfies. The kid who refuses to look at a phone camera held by anyone else, spent a full 20 minutes saying "cheese" to my phone while I fed Ford, and took about 800 of these.
Still, the photo of the week is this awesome side-by-side of Finley and Ford in the duck costume.
Here's to a quick (ifthereisagod) recovery for Ford, and hope everybody had a happy Halloween!
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