Catch-up post #2

Neil, Finn and Lily went to the store to buy a new lightbulb for Neil's car, our lunch (corn quiche - Neil's favourite) is in the oven, Baby is swinging and snoozing in the battery-operated swing (I SO wish we had had that thing when Finn was little!), and I'm enjoying another coffee from my super duper coffee maker, the best purchase we (okay, I) made in the last months. It's like having our own coffee shop at home now! With two different kinds of beans (right now I'm using regular caffè crema beans and espresso beans) it makes all our favourite specialities as strong (or not strong, for the non-Europeans amongst us, ha ha) and as hot as we like it. We had it for only a few days when my loving husband said to me, "Wow! You're like, a new person!", which I didn't know whether to laugh or cry about really. It's kind of sad when coffee has that kind of power over you, no? But I sure do love that machine. It frothes milk like there's no tomorrow (which puts a milk froth junkie like me in heaven!), and the sound of the coffee grinder is music to my ears. Plus with the baby now, there is nothing like a double espresso to get me going after a night of little sleep. But enough of the coffee talk.

What else happened in October? Well, we all had the stomach flu, for one thing. Exciting, I know. Like dominos, we all came down with it. Neil and Finn were the least affected, Lily and myself were hit a bit harder. Here is Lily passed out after 5 hours or so of projectile vomiting, mostly, but not always, in her dish. Fun times.

Sleeping beauty

And as soon as Lily had risen from her sick bed couch Blue decided to find out what was so great about that particular spot.

And one memorable weekend I was laid up at home in bed with strict orders to not talk, laugh, eat or move my face much otherwise. Why? Because I had finally gotten rid of a small but deep (and sometimes still painful) scar in the groove between my lower lip and my chin. It stemmed from a dog attacking me when I was a teenager and it had never healed nicely. So my dermatologist decided he could do a little cosmetic surgery to get rid of it and I must say I am impressed with the result! The area is still a bit sore but you could never tell I had a lumpy scar there. The doctor removed the stitches after only 2 days so that they wouldn't leave tiny scars behind, and I had to be extra careful not to open the incision up again. Let's just say I lived off of fruit smoothies and protein shakes through a straw, tried hard not to laugh even though my evil family did their best to make me, and wished we did indeed own a TV. As it was I spent a lot of time in my bedroom with my laptop, and since the internet connection is not good up there I made sure all was well on the Ponderosa by watching a whole season of Bonanza. And let me tell you, those actors knew how to sit on a horse, but they sure weren't horsemen. Well, yes, your horse will shake his head like mad if you are this harsh on his mouth. If you really feel you need to hang on to the reins for dear life at all times why don't you use a snaffle instead of a bit with shanks the length of your forearm? Good grief. (Note to self: instead of yet another kiddie DVD indulge in purchasing a good movie every now and then.)

Last not least, in true fall season spirit, we found a little visitor in our yard. Hedgie the hedgehog got more than he bargained for when he decided to look for a quiet place to hibernate  in our neighbourhood. Whenever he showed his cute little snout around the premises he was promptly picked up, fed and taken on a sightseeing tour on that plastic chair with wheels that Neil built for the kids. While Lily saw to the feeding Finn went to work with his wheelbarrow to make the leaf pile under the hedge a little bigger and softer. I haven't seen Hedgie around in a few days, and I am not sure he actually decided to stay, although the hard boiled egg and the cat food were definitely a hit with him.

Well, guess what, this did take me longer to write than I thought. Because as soon as I had typed out the  sentence about a baby snoozing in the swing she woke up (of course). Then everybody came back from the store, had lunch (which the kids declared ruined because Mama forgot to cut the pepper crust off the ham before she put it in), and now Finn, Lily and Daddy are over at the school for soccer practice. Because my lunch consisted of feeding the baby a bottle I just had my own piece of quiche. Well, let's just say next time I'll cut the pepper crust off the ham before I put it in. Nothing that a latte or cappuccino for dessert can't fix though. By the way, have I mentioned my new coffee maker? It's awesome. Seriously.