Random items of note this week:
- We celebrated our (7th? I suck at counting) wedding anniversary on Monday. We did so by ordering $50 in sushi to enjoy at home, after the boys went to bed. It was also one of the evenings where the baby was extra-special fussy, so while the sushi was on the table by 7pm, we didn’t actually drop tiredly into our seats to eat it until 9:30pm. And we had a sweet baby wailing from the swing as our background music. No worries though, he actually quieted down quickly and then we whisper-talked through the rest of our meal about where we should settle in this lovely city, the trips we’re taking with the boys in 2014, and how unfortunate looking we found the Boston Red Sox players’ beards-with-shaved-head combo things. So the romantic anniversary evening was somewhat salvaged, given the circumstances. Happy anniversary my Scottie, thank you for everything, including those two darling babies of ours (even though one of them totally hates sleeping right now).
I know, the breast pump on the table totally adds to the romance factor.
- I finally got a new winter coat (in Navy, though), which I should have done oh about 3 winters ago. The lining in my old one was toast and it still has a big spit-up stain from when Pete was a baby that the dry cleaner couldn’t get out (don’t even ask). Better late than never, am I right? Oh and also I paid like one-third of the price of that in the link, thank God for Burlington Coat Factory.
- Linus continues to perplex, as any good baby does. After I bragged about no spit up, he started spitting up on the regular. Womp, womp. After I lamented about the fussy period, he got tons better (although tonight, I had to slow-dance with him for an hour, in the dark, with the kitchen fan going full steam for white noise. Whatever it takes…). Sometimes he looks just like my baby sister Tinnie, sometimes the spitting image of Peter, and sometimes he looks like James Gandolfini.
- We visited the DreamBank downtown. Actually, to be honest – we were trying to avoid the winter chill and the bums while waiting for a table at The Old Fashioned to open up, so popped inside. Where we were greeted by the most cheerful woman ever, who sat down and chatted with Pete, provided snacks, and even gave him a book. Meanwhile I checked out all the Days of Gratitude and Dream Maker interactive exhibits inside, and was encouraged to write a Thank-you to someone using their new Thank You postcards they just got in. Okay. I am still not sure what in the heck is going on in that place and won’t lie, for a minute I thought we were going to get sucked into a weird cult. But it was a nice place to duck in from the outside and the people who are there are super nice. I think that place warrants more exploring.
- Linus caught a cold last week, poor darling. Lots of stuffed and runny nose situations, sneezing and coughing, and all around malaise. So there was lots of rocking, and holding, and lots of sad baby face. He’s better now though and he’s back to business as normal, terrorizing our sleeping habits on the regular.
- Halloween! Was rainy and cold, BOO. We were afraid Optimus was going to fall apart in the rain, but then figured if Pete wanted to roll with it, we’d let him do it anyway, rain be damned. Instead though, he was cool with being the airplane costume from a few years back. So he and dad braved the weather while I stayed back with a sick baby and baked off our Halloween pumpkin pizza. I kinda think I got the better end of the deal. 😉
Moose Man has no appreciation for a sweet ride yet.
- Finally: we got a visit from the Great Pumpkin. Natalie Norton‘s family is visited by The Great Pumpkin every year, something I was only aware of thanks to friends posting about it online at one point (thanks Josh and Jenny!). So this year, Pete packed up all his candy except for 5 pieces, and we left it out on the front stoop for The Great Pumpkin. Lo and behold: he came, and left toys! Pete was insanely excited. One thing to note about this: it was very cold that night, and we were worried about toys sitting outside on the front porch in the damp cold all night. Soooo… Scott got up extra early and brought in the goods, leaving them just inside the front door for Pete to see. It was absolutely NOT a situation where we planned to put out the loot ourselves at the last baby feeding, and were so exhausted we forgot. Totally not that, you guys. The Great Pumpkin is REAL.
- As a funny side note: after patting ourselves on the back for how awesome it is that The Great Pumpkin comes over, I got an e-mail from Pete’s teacher that evening. Telling us they do an annual pre-K tradition called “Sweetness”, in which the kids bring in 10-20 pieces of candy from their Halloween score and they package them up all pretty, to give away to their buddies at the Senior Center. Because: of course. So I kinda had to warn Pete that this was happening, and that mommy would buy some of the EXACT SAME CANDY, INCIDENTALLY, THAT HE GOT IN HIS BUCKET, for him to use for that.
Scott’s parents and brother came up for a visit, we hung and and ate good food (lots of good food) and visited and it was just loverly. Except: I continued that recent bad habit of forgetting I own a camera. So all I have to share are a few murky photos from dinner at The Old Fashioned one evening, from my terrible camera phone. Sorry guys! I guess photos of us hanging out in the living room aren’t that exciting, anyway 🙂
Sadly: the only big bunch of photos I got from their visit were from a trip to the Farmer’s Market Saturday morning (my mother in law Kris graciously offered to stay home and do Linus duty so I could tag along at the market). It was kinda damp and a little chilly, and some of the vendors have already packed up until next summer, but there was still tons to check out. Love the fall and all the bounty – tons of apples, squash, Brussels sprouts, etc. Also the ornamental kale in full bloom. I know I’ve said it before but man, if we had gotten married in Madison instead of Lawrence, I most certainly would have just hit the market the morning of my wedding day for bouquets. Love how it changes with the seasons.
Those are black radishes in the image above, by the way. I totally need to buy them sometime.
Also we did a quick run in the Capitol while there. Pete loves to check out the ceiling from the floor. While spinning. Yeah I dunno, kids are weird.
Oh okay so maybe I got a few more before forgetting about the camera entirely: Pete’s new obsession (carefully circling everything he wants in the Christmas toy flyers; poor Santa that is one insane list). Also some sleepy time for grandpa Mueller and Linus – looks rather comfy for both, yes? 😉
That’s it, folks!
Nemmie Mueller 