Land of the Free Because of the Brave

It might be a weird time to be an American, but we should be proud of our great nation. Nothing and nobody is perfect, but if you look around at all the opportunities you are afforded as an American, there's no denying that we're better off than billions of people around the world. We owe so much to our veterans, not the least of which is our freedom. With respect, honor and gratitude, thank you veterans. (I stole that from a meme, but it sounds so good, right?)

And now, a little piece on our real life these days.

Does anyone else feel like their children have been producing a constant stream of snot with a side of on and off cough since starting school a couple months ago? I know I have two little kids in two different childcare settings, which is the perfect storm for endless illness, but it's starting to get a little tiring.

The worst thing about it, of course, is that you hate to see your kids sick. But the second worst thing about it is the torture of the baby monitor. Because of the layout of our house, Graham sleeps about a 1/2 mile away from me, so we can't NOT have it. He sleeps most nights the whole time, but what if he woke up with a fever or something? I can't go without the monitor, but the stupid thing picks up the smallest sounds and amplifies them 10-fold. I have it sitting on the desk, across the room, on the lowest volume, and it wakes me up All. Night. Long. These kids won't stop coughing, and every time they cough at night, or even make a teeny tiny coo, it catapults me from REM to panic mode in a tenth of a second. No other noise does that...it must be my maternal instinct that keeps me on high alert. And it is utterly freaking torturous.

So when Dylan rolled in at midnight last night, and then I was awakened for the fourth time before 1am, I said, "Hi. Bye," and headed to my sanctuary, the guest room. No dogs, no snores, no sheet thieves and NO MONITOR. Poor Dylan had to immediately turn around and put on his producer hat to shoot some videos this morning, and he was out of the house by 7am. The formerly self-proclaimed Man of Leisure is probably wondering what in the actual heck has happened to his life, but we should all be reunited by the afternoon with some pretty sweet plans lined up for the rest of the weekend.

In all seriousness, though, some day I'll sleep again, and I'm not that worried about it. What had me seriously worried was when Gavin got a fever again for the second time in two weeks. He was waking up screaming and then fine by morning. He also wasn't eating, and he's had a swollen lymph node in his neck for about six weeks, and my mind started going to a very dark place about what was happening. So, I got him an appointment with Dr. Curley first thing on Monday, and the doctor assured me that the lymph node will probably stick around through the winter because I have two little people that are a petri dish of germs, and everyone will stay sick forever because that's how it goes. And no worries about the repeated fever, and it's okay he's lost 1.5 lbs since his third birthday, his lungs/ears/throat are fine and everything is hunky dory, grab a lollipop and be on your way. That made me feel a little better, and now Gavin's eating all the time again and not looking so sickly, so I am incredibly relieved.

Here's a photo from Monday of two adorable look-alike cousins. Gavin looks skinny...would you agree?

And why were we having this much fun on a Monday afternoon? We were celebrating sweet Pierce's 2nd birthday, of course! Between napping babies and last minute appointments with the pediatrician, we had to skip out on Pump it Up, but we were happy to join the cousins for some afternoon ice cream. Happy birthday to that little rascal and sweet bundle of joy! And thanks Kristin for yet again capturing the best photos. I don't know what happens to my photography skills when we get together, but she gets all the winning shots, and mine are always complete losers.

Hugs for the birthday boy!

And earlier in the day, we made a stop at Target. My mom was there to photograph the event because it's the most typical thing I've ever done in the history of my life. A mom with two little kids...in Scottsdale...wearing workout clothes...shopping at Target on a week day morning.

I know a lot of cute babies, but Graham is the sweetest, most adorable person I've ever met.

As far as the rest of the week between Monday and now? Well you know about the election and the car battery and all the normal things we always do, so I'll spare you any details. Okay, folks. D has been spotted on the premises with bags of delicious things for our grill. Adios.