Popped

I just got home from the eye doctor. I told the nurse that it was like a mini vacation because I got to go to the doctor's office without taking Drew and Gracie with me.

I like the eye doctor that I saw today ... she took one look at my eyelid and said, "Bummer, huh?" When I agreed, she said, "You know, it's basically just a big zit, right?" Well, yes, I was aware of that. So she said she could "pop" it for me. Just what I wanted to hear. In fact, she did it this morning, so it's all done.

While the doctor gave me the shot in my eyelid, she said, "Yep, you're a mom," and then went on to tell me how she has never had a female patient faint when she gave them the shot but that guys seem to have a harder time with it.

My husband took one look at my eyelid when I got home and said, "Is it supposed to look better now?" I think it is swollen even more than it was, and I have a pretty black eye now. There was also some scar tissue so I don't know if it will ever look normal again. Sigh. At least it's gone for now.

Odds and Ends

I have to go to the eye doctor tomorrow. I have had a chalazion (a blocked oil gland) on my lower eyelid since July. As it has now grown to grotesque proportions, I am finally going to do something about it. Often, a chalazion will go away if you apply a warm compress to it for 10-15 minutes, two to four times a day. I really did try to use the warm compresses, but found it somewhat impractical. I can't see much without my glasses, but couldn't apply the warm compress with them on. With a one-year-old and a three-year-old running around the house, I had a hard time sitting still for that long without being able to see well what they were up to!

I really hate to take any kind of medication, even Tylenol, but sometimes I am too stubborn for my own good. The other day I had a headache for over nine hours before I finally gave in. My headache started around noon, and it was a long afternoon and evening because my husband had to work late (so he can stay with the kids tomorrow morning while I go to the eye doctor). I made it through dinner and got the kids to bed. Then I went straight to bed myself. After laying in bed for an hour with my head pounding, thinking that surely my headache would go away any minute, I finally took the Tylenol. It felt amazingly good to wake up headache-free the next morning!

On the subject of Drew and the baby wipes, my husband was partially right. I was so frustrated about it that I remembered to put the wipes up after each diaper change all day yesterday. Then, after a frustration-free day yesterday, I forgot again today. Ack! My husband's other suggestion was to use duct tape to tape the wipes box closed. What is it with men and duct tape?

Frustrated

I am so frustrated with Drew! He just scattered an entire box of wipes all over the floor of his room ... for the THIRD time today. I guess I am more frustrated with myself than with Drew, though. I had forgotten to put the wipes up out of his reach two of those times. The other time I had put them out of reach, but Gracie moved them back into reach. Still, he wouldn't have been able to make such a mess if I hadn't run downstairs to check my e-mail just then. Some days I feel like such a failure as a mom.

For my own sanity, I need to find a solution to the wipes problem. I need to have a place to put the wipes so that I can reach them when I need them for a diaper change, but where Drew can't reach them. Or maybe a child-proof wipes box would solve my problem. (Does such a thing exist?) My husband's less-than-helpful comment was that after Drew did this a few more times I probably wouldn't forget to put the wipes back out of his reach as often. I would rather not have to rely on my faulty memory!

Drew can't be the only one-year-old who likes get into everything. If you have any ideas on keeping him out of the baby wipes, PLEASE let me know!

Little van Gogh

This month our library is offering a series of four art classes for three- to five-year-olds, and Gracie had her first art class last week. When I took Gracie to the class I noticed that the teacher had a copy of van Gogh's painting, Starry Night. After class, I asked Gracie if they looked at any paintings by famous artists. She told me that they looked at a landscape by Vincent van Gogh (she hesitated on his last name) and that he didn't paint the sky straight. A minute or two later she commented that the sky is straight in our world, not whirly, so I asked her why she thought van Gogh painted the sky "whirly." Gracie said, "He painted the sky in cursive!" (We had talked about cursive handwriting earlier in the week, and I guess she was impressed by the loops in cursive writing. I thought it was a cute observation!)

Budget Checkup

This evening my husband and I sat down for our monthly budget "checkup." At the end of each month I add up how much money we spent in several categories, and then we sit down to compare it to our budget and look at how we did for the month. I like the fact that we sit down together to do this because it helps me stay motivated to keep up with the records. It also helps us both to be accountable for our spending.

We are finally settling in to the new budget we created in June. We have had a few unexpected expenses each month, but for the last two months we have met our budget, which is a good feeling!

Fall Fun

I can never decide whether fall or spring is my favorite season, but I am really enjoying fall this year. It may be because Drew is walking now, so it is easier for us to spend time outdoors together. We've also had some fun outings as a family this fall.

We took a tour of a replica of one of Christopher Columbus's ships, the Nina. It is supposed to be "the most historically accurate replica of a Columbus ship ever built." I was amazed by how small the Nina was. I cannot imagine crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a ship that size, with the crew sleeping on deck (the cargo hold would have been full of provisions). I now have a much better appreciation for how much courage it must have taken to set out on a voyage in such a ship, especially into unknown waters.

Our trip to the apple orchard was also fun. We enjoyed exploring a big corn maze (my husband has an amazing sense of direction!) and took a hay-rack ride to pick a pumpkin. Gracie chose two miniature pumpkins, one for herself and one for Drew. My only complaint about the apple orchard was that each activity cost money. They even charged five dollars per child to play on the playground (we went to the park instead of paying to play). The best deal of the day was the hay-rack ride to pick pumpkins. The only charge was for the pumpkins, and the miniature ones were only a quarter each.

I think one of Drew's and Gracie's favorite things this fall has been raking the leaves in our own front yard. We have a huge silver maple tree in our front yard, so we have plenty of leaves! Drew and Gracie each have a small plastic rake and we have spent time outdoors raking leaves almost every day for the last week or two.

Sick

The other day I read the title of a post on Smart Not Cheap that made me laugh: "Rumors of my blog death are greatly exaggerated...." I'm glad Michelle is still blogging over there because I enjoy reading what she has to say.

When I read that title, I realized that I have not posted here for quite some time now. Given my track record with writing, it's pretty much a given that this blog of mine will die sooner or later. But today is not the day.

The last couple of weeks here have seemed long and tiring. First Drew was sick with a cold followed by an ear infection. Then Gracie got sick with the same thing (minus the ear infection). Finally, the day after both children were finally well, my husband got it. I am still trying to catch up with everything that didn't get done around the house while I was taking care of sick children.

When Gracie was at the doctor's office last week, I asked the pediatrician for his opinion on flu shots. He said he thinks they are beneficial. I ask him his opinion every year, and get a similar answer every year, but so far I have never taken my children for a flu shot. Sometimes I wish I wasn't responsible for making decisions like this. I guess I need to get busy and do some research on flu shots.