Sunrise

 A lovely side effect of the Outside23in23 challenge is that I have become addicted to the sunrise. 

Expect for dogs leashed to joggers’ waists and the occasional impatient SUV on a  morning commute so early the driver should absolutely rethink their life choices, my neighborhood is silent and deserted pre-dawn. I feel like the snow stained pink from streetlights and pale winter sun is a secret just for me, and it’s a cozy kind of silent and deserted. Some houses have lights on in kitchen windows. Sometimes I can see a woman or two doing HIIT workouts in their unfinished basements. The custodian is usually getting the school ready for the day, and a few classroom motion-sensor lights come on.

Occasionally, Cooper and Dorothy walk with me. Dorothy is a mid-morning, hot-cocoa-in-hand ,weekend walker, but Cooper will get up before the sun and seek it out with me. He loves to walk over frozen ice puddles on the sidewalk and listen to them crack under his shoes, and the morning moon delights him.

When I am alone, I listen to an audiobook or a daily news podcast and stop to marvel at the sky. It’s such a perfect way to start my day: crisp, quiet, contemplative. I did think the other day as I was zipping my ankle-length coat over my pajamas pulling up my tall Uggs that when coat season is over, I am either going to have to sleep in outside clothes or change first thing in the morning— a wrinkle for sure. For now, I roll straight out of bed to the sidewalk, maaaaaybe stopping for a Keurig cup of coffee first, but not always.

Will I get up with the sun as it rises earlier and earlier? Maybe. Probably. I might be addicted. The brand new sky is a delight I didn’t know I was missing.

5 on a Friday: PICS OF THE WEEK

 1. So sweaty. So disheveled. So darling.

 

2.  I mean. What even IS this pose?

3. The sushi place was out of seaweed salad (??) so Ben got 2 giant Gigi’s cupcakes instead. (We shared with the boys). (Same as a salad, obvi).

4.  I throw my foot when I walk, huh? This is why my massage therapist is always telling me my hips are uneven, I bet.

5. My mom sent the kids valentines with cash, and Minnie bought a 4-piece (matching scrunchie) Peppa Pig ensemble that she has been wearing every day since

The stinky baba

 Well. Since it is a Thursday in February, it must be a blizzard. This has been the weirdest weather month (which is something middle class people in resource-rich parts of developed nations will just repeat inanely to each other now through the end of time) with warm weather all week and then a huge heaping of snow on Thursdays. IT IS SUPPOSED TO SNOW NEXT THURSDAY, TOO.

This week, our school district is open but all the private schools in town and every single outlying district for like 40 miles is closed. WEIRD DECISION, MADISON. But since I am working from home today, I will take it. Also, speaking of privilege, Ben took the big kids to school so we didn't have to worry about them in the snow, and the other kids just walk across the street. I would be more stressed about this day if there were busses involved. And boy would it suck to have to have to find emergency childcare if they were home and my job was unworkable with them around, etc. NO WINNERS, is what I am saying.

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We have been missing one of Minnie’s bottles for about a week. 

We only have 3 bottles total since ironically we only started using them once Minnie turned 1 and tried cow's milk-- she really likes to drink it from a 4-ounce Avent newborn bottle, and who am I to judge that? We have the emergency bottle pack I bought when she was days old and not pooping and my doc told me to supplement each feed with pumped milk, and we don't plan to buy more now that she is 2.5 with teeth growing into the shape of a circle who also still breastfeeds, you know?

So, I mean, it's not like we have been searching for this bottle because SHE DOESN'T NEED IT and really SHOULD NOT BE USING IT.

But! While building a Frozen castle out of blocks, I found it under the couch-- where I stuck my head to grab an errant lavender triangle.

It was CHUNKY, and I happily gave it to Ben to rinse and put in the dishwasher because I could not bear to open it up myself.

Which is when Minnie piped up with “OH! THAT THE STINKY BABA! THE STINKY BABA SO YUCKY”

I had a few questions:

I am still laughing about this, if you must know. Like, when did she find and drink it? And why did she just put it back where she found it and not SAY anything?

Ugh, she’s so funny.

Sick again or still sick?

 I SPIKED A FEVER YESTERDAY AFTERNOON WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL? Am I still sick? Sick again? EVER GOING TO FEEL BETTER?

I should probably go to the doctor? Or at least to urgent care to be swabbed for all of the things? I have Minnie’s terrible cough, too. GAH.

I felt fine all morning EXCEPT my workout made me break out in a cold sweat, and I felt winded after my walk. AND ALSO I took ibuprofen for period cramps, so maybe that masked other symptoms? After I dropped Dorothy at dance and took my tiniest Valentine to pick up heart-shaped take and bake pizzas, I felt like hell again. Shivering even though it was mid-40s outside, and I had my heat cranked up and my seat warmers on, tired, achy- the whole deal.

We explored another library. Because I am just swanning around like Typhoid Mary, apparently. (My women, health, and history class in grad school addressed what a problematic trope she is, but the name just rolls off my tongue).

Other Valentine things:

Festively trying to keep my hair off my face for baby swim.

Taking a sunrise walk with Coop

Ready for dance class 

Making a valentine for her swim teacher.

Post-kiddie-bedtime sushi (ordered like 3 too many rolls— sorry not sorry)

Dorothy’s school ensemble

Hope you had a lovely V-day— anyone actually go out? I swear that’s on our agenda for next year.

Happy V-day

 I looooooooove Valentine’s Day. LOVE IT SO MUCH.

Like, all heart-shaped lunch foods kind of love (If you roll out a Z bar you can make 2 tiny hearts out of it Minnie calls Z bars Z-B-A-Rs, which cracks me up.)

Minnie and I went to a Friday play date at The Little Gym to celebrate, even (omg you guys! Is that where the virus of doom came from?!)

Because I am tracking my spending this quarter, I happen to know that I spent EIGHTY SEVEN DOLLARS of real money, not Monopoly funds, on classroom Valentines for Dorothy and Cooper to hand out at school. WHAT. I am kind of interested to see what other money suckers pop up unexpectedly. Like, I knew Valentines were a thing I bought, but I didn’t think they cost that much. Add another $30 on class party contributions (cheaper FOR SURE than years I signed up to be the class party mom) PLUS V-Day morning gifts for all and DANG. A major minor holiday.

Minnie and I BAKED, even

My dad always worked at a chain drugstore pharmacy when I was a kid, so we always had little gifts and ginormous Russel Stover chocolate hearts on v-day, and that tradition lives on. I hope you all have a lovely (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?) day with aaaaall the heart eyes.

DEMOLISHED

 We got just demolished by a horrible virus this weekend. Not norovirus thank goodness— or maybe it was but we only got the fever, chills, and body ache part? Is that a thing? No GI symptoms anyway. Minnie also has a terrible snotty nose and a gross cough (that mostly strikes at bedtime and in the middle of the night and causes me SUCH anxiety), but nobody else got that part, either.

 Jack didn’t get sick at all. 

But the rest of us? DEMOLISHED.

And the absolute weirdest part was that it came out of nowhere. Saturday morning, we were all fine. Minnie had a 99.2-degree temperature, a runny nose, and a tiny cough, but she was in good spirits.

 Harry and Jack went to a speech tournament at 7 am, and I took Coop to his first hockey game at 9:30 while Ben and the girls grocery shopped for lasagna and brownie ingredients. Ben and I switched off after game 1, so he could watch game 2, and I made lunch at home for the girls and put Minnie (fever free with no meds, as she would stay all weekend even though the snot and cough situation got worse) down for a nap. I was FREEZING, but our home hockey rink is always cold, so I put on slippers and a sweater and made some tea and didn’t think much of it. I tried to take a nap after lunch while watching Wednesday with Dorothy, and I took some Tylenol mid-afternoon because I just felt kind of achy and tired.

The boys came home from speech before dinner (Harry won the tournament in oratory and was THRILLED), and Harry felt kind of off. He took his temperature and had a low grade fever, so he took some ibuprofen because sometimes when he gets a virus he also gets a pericardial effusion, and his cardiologist wants him to jump on anti-inflammatories when he gets sick.

That made me think oh shit maybe I should take my temperature, so I did, and it was 100 even with Tylenol on board. BUT I KEPT MAKING DINNER. And cleaning up dinner, And taking care of assorted kids while Ben took Cooper to a birthday party and picked up our grocery order. When he got home with groceries, I was like dude, I am going to bed I think I might expire from this horrible disease that I have. Also my temperature was 102, and that sucks when you’re a grown up.

I was SO COLD and my body hurt terribly. I took a shower and dressed in a flannel PJ set with a sweatshirt over the top like Murphy Brown AND a plush robe on top that I wore into bed under all my covers with an extra down quilt on top and could not stop shivering. Ben made Harry and me both take COVID tests (neg), and I took more meds and watched TONS and TONS of Emily in Paris because I was too sick to even sleep. My body aches were BRUTAL.

In the middle of the night, Ben spiked a fever from his bed on the couch, and he wrapped himself in all the blankets we keep in the ottoman and just, like, shivered for a few hours. I was zero help in the morning, though, and really didn’t get out of bed until mid afternoon. I just could not even. I felt kind of bad listening to the noises of people living outside my door, but honestly? The whole thing sounded really subdued. After several doses of OTC meds, some 7 up and crackers that I made my also-sick husband bring to me, and an epsom salt soak (thank goodness for super deep bath tubs), I gingerly got out of bed... to find that Dorothy and Cooper woke up sick, too, and everyone was just sort of laying around feeling awful. SO that’s why they were so quiet.

Harry felt so crappy he found a sub for the hockey game he was supposed to ref and canceled his Super Bowl plans with friends as soon as he woke up. Ben thought Cooper was going to be sad to miss Sunday hockey, but Coop was so sick he barely acknowledged the game. Even Dorothy just sat around and read books all day (that’s another thing—I was too sick to read. At some points, I was too sick to watch Emily in Paris— I just stared at the screen saver on my TV).

Miraculously, all the kids woke up Monday feeling wonderful and went to school. Ben felt ok and worked from home. I felt less ok and took a sick day to sloth around and feel the rest of the way better. Which I do. Finally. 

At least it was fast?

Also! The night before we got sick we went out for shared plates with friends. YIKES YIKES YIKES. Nobody likes to send the thanks-for-sharing-your-chèvre-curds-I-AM-SO-SICK text the morning after.

Right before we went out, we discovered that Harry’s tire was flat on the driveway. LOVE that for us.

I am trying SO HARD to do beach waves with my flat iron, you guys.

I got one single good one at hockey on Saturday

The above shot was me at 9:30 am, and by 8 pm, I was SO PATHETIC

Who takes a selfie when they feel like hot trash?

Another thing I love for us? 1 flat tire turned into 1 tire repair, 2 brand new tires, new windshield wiper blades, and an oil change. Neat.

Happier times, BEFORE VIRUS.

5 on a Friday: Snow Day Snaps

 1. DOROTHY GOT HER BRACES OFF!!!! She reeeaaaally didn’t want to go to the ortho on Thursday AM because it was a snow day, and she has strict PJ’s all day rules. But, I mean, she managed to rally and put on sweats (after screaming like she was being murdered— love that for us and our whole neighborhood). Will she need braces again when more grown up teeth come in? Probably because in my experience, braces cost about $4k more than your insurance will cover, no matter what the dollar amount of that coverage is. Now she has a retainer that she has to take off a million times a day— love the idea of her touching her mouth and a thing that goes in her mouth a million times during the school day. BRING IT, GERMS.

2. Zoom, just like old days. Ben was at the ortho with Dorothy, and Cooper and Jack were downstairs. Harry was not yet awake because he’s too cool even on a snow day. So, I had a meeting with lots of participation and a two-year-old. Living the dream for sure. She dumped out her blocks and pretty much just sat in the box waiting for a ride (that never came **whomp whomp**).

3. Multi-sibling baking. Harry and Jack took my Target red card for spin Wednesday and stocked up on potential snow day essentials like Funfetti cupcakes with hot garbage hot pink icing. (Note: I made yellow cupcakes with chocolate buttercream on Wednesday from scratch and they were gone before Thursday morning. These kids can put away the cupcakes.)

4. I dropped a glob of peanut butter in my coffee that was headed for my toast, and it was pretty good, you guys.

5. The kids built Minnie a box they called a castle and armed her to the cute little teeth. #MOTY