Of hospitals and birthday tyrants.

Good thing we had a relaxing long weekend in Arkansas, because life hit with a vengeance when we got back. Seth's leg had started to seem infected again, and Thursday he spent the day at a civilian hospital looking into the possibility of hyperbaric treatment because, well, we had to try something new.

Naturally, also Thursday Ford got kicked out of daycare for throwing up ("Must be the stomach bug a lot of kids in our class have had! Don't worry, it goes away in a day or two!" "Come here so I can kick you in the teeth for failing to mention this before, and for acting like two days with a sick kid at work is in any way an 'only.'")

At any rate, Ford scored a bunch of meetings, a lot of iPad Elmo, and French fries at Grant Hall once he was feeling better.

I got three separate uniforms puked on and a huge dry cleaning bill.

Plus a totally insane drive to the emergency room at the hospital Seth had gone to an hour away that night, with him wincing in pain at every bump, Ford throwing up all over his car seat, and Finley singing Kidzbop at the top of her lungs. Not a road trip I care to repeat, or would wish on anyone.



So it's been a crazy week and change. Finley and Ford got to join me at PT (I bribed them with donuts afterwards)

and at a work function at a bar, where Finley really showed off.

But first, Ford's birthday. And although we're having a little bit of a hard time believing that the sweet moment on the left was only two years ago



at 6am Saturday, this birthday tyrant was up demand "MY pe-sents!" and playing with the World's Most Dreadful Toy (from Ana & Ata),



stomping on stomp rockets (thanks, Nicole),

eating peanut butter out of the jar,

and seeming very much like a "big guy," as Finley calls him. "Not a baby anymore."

Because Seth was still in the hospital, Ford got two birthdays.

The second of which included arts & crafts and playgrounds and firefighters and Finley blowing out his candles. Photos of the party are here.

The party continued Sunday, with Hattie's dino tea party (a huge hit, minus the dinosaur costume which Ford did not trust and Finley loved)

and- finally!- some spring-like weather.

After which we settled into a new week, of Taco Tuesdays with Dad

and still rocking our fireman hats at daycare.

And the photo of the week, these two having escaped the house while I was making coffee this morning. I found them outside reading Pete the Cat together. Which feels like a real parenting win, minus the fact that it's time for child locks on the doors.

We sprung Seth yesterday and he's home with a PICC line and a a box of medical supplies but optimistic about this go 'round having made a difference. Fingers crossed.

Only in Arkansas.

A couple years ago, evidently, social media spurred a spinoff of the state of Arkansas's Visitor's Bureau campaign and it's now a hashtag and everything. #onlyinarkansas.

Indeed.

We had a terrific time in the Natural State. The kids were not bad at all on the early morning nonstop flight to Fayetteville (the AR not the NC one, a mistake I once made and which Dad will never let me forget.) They were terrorists in the airport, however.



We made a pilgrimage to the quirky, impossibly cool Terra Studios, home of the Original Bluebird of Happiness. Against all odds, nobody broke one. Ford had a much better time than it appears from his terrible face in the bottom  photo.

Seth went turkey hunting in horrible weather. Needless to say, the turkeys didn't materialize in the freezing rain and gusting winds, but one of my favorite things about Seth is that he always has a good time in the woods anyway.

I went for a jog in Springdale, knocking out the Hogeye Marathon- a real hoot, and my first one since kids. Which means it was slow and miserable (the weather didn't help) but it's nice to have under my belt. They did indeed give out hog snouts at the finish line.

Which were later repossessed.

And Finley and Ford had a grand time with Ana & Ata. Which included yoga,

tractor rides,

fireplace s'mores,

and Mom's famous pizza making.

Not to mention fun on the new tire and log swings Dad put up, although for some reason I failed to snap pictures of those. (So I'm subbing in two pictures of their beautiful house, an especially terrific place to hang out when there's a fire going on a cold and windy April weekend.)

It was tough to leave, we all had such a good time. Finley remembered to raid the fridge first

and we were grateful for the reminder that it's possible to squeeze in an "only in Arkansas" trip on a long weekend.


One of my favorites is of these three sharing a Texas waffle. (Ben & Lisa, that waffle maker gets lots of mileage when F+F are around.)

What a Week.

Man, it's been a week. We leave for Arkansas in six hours. We are not packed. Our taxes are not done, the first year I have ever filed this late. Ford is completely out of diapers and went to bed in a princess pullup. And I'm finishing OERs instead of making sure the fridge is cleaned out and we don't leave a full diaper genie for the housekeepers when we sprint for the airport tomorrow.

Just a week. It started with a nutty weekend that included taking four kids to the National Collegiate Boxing Championships (where ours mostly snacked)

 and, out of desperation on a rainy day, to the Elks Place. Where even Seth got in on the action.

Plus a "greams come true" sleepover with the Ryans.

And the beginning of a very sad farewell to the Hilderbrands, with whom we have the best impromptu taco nights and nerf gun fights. They'll be at Bragg too, but not having them next door means saying goodbye to this fabulousness:

We spent the rest of the weekend recovering. Ford had brunch in sunglasses with chickens.

Finley got to scale the horses at P.F. Chang's before demanding to sit at the bar- to my eternal mortification- at BJ's.

And tonight we had kid date night instead of packing, since I had long ago scooped up once-in-a-lifetime tickets for Seth & Finley to go see "The Lion King" on Broadway. I'm still waiting on pictures, but they are adorably passed out on the couch together and it sounds like they had a great time. Ford got the consolation prize of a train ride and hot dogs in Beacon. He loved both.

Two photos of the week. One, in honor of National Sibling Day, which is apparently a thing, this beautiful throwback to Bellows and my faves.

And this glamour shot of Finley, who- unprompted- modeled the flower in her hair she snagged from my bouquet, with this horrifying pose.

Cheers! to packing, lots of hot dogs, and flower accessories. Not to mention, Fridays.

Grandma Jayne, Easter, and the Working Mom Club

Ford lost his mind at daycare dropoff today. We were having a perfectly nice morning, picking out Disney-themed clothing and downing sausages, when he decided that he simply had to take his garden shovel to daycare.

I'm pretty chill about letting them bring stuff from home and leave them in their cubbies (and daycare is pretty cool about letting me choose not to fight that battle), but I felt like a three foot shovel was over the line. I told Ford firmly that he could have it after school but would need to leave it in the car.

He flung himself onto the pavement, kicking and screaming and writhing about, as I tried to contain him with one arm and keep Finley from dancing into the street with the other. This is not a picture of this morning; it's a particularly joyous one from Easter. But you get the idea.

To top it off, we were out of coffee and I was late for a meeting.


From across the parking lot, Claire's Mom gave me the "I've been there" look.

Man, I live for the solidarity of the Working Mom club.

To be fair, I've been spoiled. The very week after we barely survived the trip home from Peru, I had to spend 3 days TDY in Tampa. So naturally, Seth called in the big guns. (Jayne, who generously agreed to stay the entire week.) Who is just honestly a saint. She cooked and cleaned and taught kids how to count to like a thousand and took them to Target and let us drag her around to various social events and I don't think I did laundry for a week and a half. 

She also sent photos like this 

and this

and this

while I was away, and shoveled snow and made countless snowball forts when it snowed in April. 

Tampa,  incidentally, was a quick trip for a legal conference with a brutal schedule. But I did find time to go for morning jogs with this waterfront view, and drink a beer or two with friends. Hard to complain (even if I had to be in my seat at 7 every day, because SOCOM ruins everything.)

Still, I was delighted to get back to these little guys (skimming off the top of Dad's morning shake).

Plus I made it back just in time for Easter,

which included the world's worst table manners

and an awful, cold, rainy Easter egg hunt with this creepy bunny.

This picture was actually taken the week before, at the Morning with the Easter Bunny, and made it onto the West Point Club website. I had to share because it, at least, was cute. And doesn't come with flashbacks.

Ford ate an entire chocolate Easter bunny, including much of the gilt wrapping, at the sunrise service. Finley pooped on her new Easter dress. I wondered how early was too early for an Easter mimosa.

For no reason, we decided to reward the toddler atrocities with new bikes. Which were obviously a big hit, even if my favorite part was watching Seth and his Mom put them together (my new favorite holiday tradition.)

My favorites of the week are of these handsome guys headed to Easter brunch,

and this beautiful shot with Grandma Jayne. Who we are very definitely missing this week!