So my dad, he’s got some sort of virus, who knows what. Not a huge deal, but he had a fever and looked kinda pasty and whatnot this morning. Plus we had our first big storm and it was all snowy and gross and the news was all “Hey! It’s snowing! And these cars crashed because DID WE MENTION that it is SNOWING here in NEW ENGLAND? Here I am in the SNOW! Drive CAREFULLY!”

But because I am a lousy daughter, I was unable to convince him to stay another day. I offered everything I could think of, including ginger ale with a straw, hand-delivered to his choice of resting locations! But no, he wanted to go home to his own bed. While he was sick. In the snow. We were unable to dissuade him.

And because I am a lousy mother, I kept both kids home from school today. In fairness, Monkey seems to be sick (although not horribly so), but Chickadee’s school had a 2-hour delay, so even after letting her sleep in I still could’ve made her go. But it just seemed too complicated. We would’ve had to rush and I would’ve had to get the driveway cleared and all of that for half a day of what? Advanced gluing? Coloring practice? I just can’t get too worked up about missing half a day of first grade.
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The pie is quite delicious… I couldn’t say for sure if it could win me a pie-baking contest in Georgia or not, but it’s yummy. And continuing in the Thanksgiving-ish theme, we made a veritable banquet tonight; turkey with all the trimmings and the singing of the grace song followed by fingers in the mashed potatoes, just as God intended.

All of which would’ve been fabulous–no qualification–if I was someone else, with someone else’s luck. But GUESS WHAT! I’m me, and so it was all fabulous except for a few minor things.

Like how Chickadee complained of itchiness this afternoon and when I asked if Daddy had her shower after swimming, she said no. So up we headed for a shower, and her eczema was the worst I’ve ever seen it. She was scratched raw around her knees and elbows and cried in the shower and cried as I tried to do the ointment and lotion as gently as possible. Poor scaly pumpkin.

And then there was the part where Monkey crawled into my lap towards the end of dinner and I said to myself, Hey self, this child feels a wee bit toasty. Minutes later I had the answer to how many green beans a small boy with a temperature of 102 will eat (four, believe it or not).

Plus we’re not even discussing how I have apparently forgotten how to sleep. God, I am just not very bright sometimes. Leave it to me to forget how to sleep. Tune in next week as I master the fine art of blinking!

Anyway. Despite this, we here at Casa Mir are vastly enjoying having the parental types around. Chickadee and Grandma have been playing dollies, and Grandpa has developed a small Monkey-shaped growth on his hindquarters. This left me uncharacteristically free to indulge in some of my favorite activities, today. Trying to nap (see above), cooking, and not suffering from bleeding eardrums as the result of an uninterrupted stream of inane prattle directed only at me.

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to a complete nervous breakdown either from lack of sleep, sick children, concert jitters, or some combination thereof. But it’s comforting to know that my folks will be here to cover the kids’ eyes while it happens.