The government!

My friends didn't find the humor in this but I did and I am pretty sure Will's Grandma Dotty will get a kick out of it so I am telling the story. I am watching one of my neighbor's children a couple of days a week and the boys were playing one of their traditional faustian-themed games adapted over the years...cowboys and indians, cops and robbers, storm-troopers and battle droids, ben 10 and aliens...you get the idea. The game had just begun and the characters were still in development...Will said, "I'm the cops." Alex one-upped him and said, "I am SWAT!" Will then turned and lowered his voice almost to a whisper and said mysteriously, "Well, then I am the Government..." In the photo he is the character he calls Identity...

A close friend had a miscarriage this week and her family could use some prayers, if you are so inclined.

Update to the wildlife in the yard...I really need to get an SLR! The momma rabbit and the baby were out chillin in the front yard, munching on some grass, drinking from the fountain when the adolescent light gray squirrel came and was checking out the baby rabbit, wanting to play. That's all he wants to do is play. He even climbs the playset and then runs down the slide. If only he knew how to slide, he would love it! The momma took offense to this and the dance that ensued was hilarious. The rabbit would hop and bang her feet on the ground and the squirrel would turn around and ruffle his tail and try to make it look big and scary like a cobra...it was comical because it was like a lady chasing the hoodlums from the yard and then the hoodlums moon the her on the way out. Meanwhile the cardinal family was back at the playground picking through the rocks for leftover snacks.

cardinals and grandma

This morning I got up and my head is feeling marginally better but since I have been in this allergy/drug fog for the last 4 days I was wondering what in the world am I gonna write about today? Maybe I will have to post something in the afternoon and maybe something interesting might happen that I can talk about, or maybe something on the today show will grab my interest. I was stretching and opening the curtains, making coffee when I noticed the cardinal outside. For a couple of years I have been watching a male cardinal in our neighborhood. I don't think he lives in any of our trees, but it certainly comes for the feast of crackers, cookies and pb&j sandwiches that sprinkle my yard every evening. My Grandma Bette loved cardinals. She had paintings of them and needlepoint with them and I specifically remember an outdoor ceramic bell chime that she hung indoors and I always brushed my hand along it when I came and went down the hallway. Kelsey used to have me pick her up so she could make it chime. She loved it too. I was talking to my husband the other day because I was asking if it is the male or female that is all red...because lately I have seen another male, female, or baby...with red on top of head and red beak but brown feathers with little spots and it is smaller. So off to wikipedia I go because this morning the cardinal outside was the small one, I am almost certain now that it is a baby female! I wish I could get a good picture of it...it is soo cute and it was eating a worm and wiped its little face on the driveway. Thanks Grandma for the material. I looked it up and here it is the female northern cardinal...can't tell if it is young, it looks young! This is a stock photo from wikipedia because I don't have an SLR...maybe I should work on that!

Allergies and JBA

I have spent the last 3-4 days seeking comfort from an all out assault on my sinuses. I am not a regular allergy sufferer although both my son and my husband are severe sufferers. I remember times in my life having a flare up and feeling really miserable for a day or so but nothing like this. I seriously feel as though my head weighs 50% more than usual, like someone has taken a match to the inside of my sinuses. At the same time I think my eyes are hooked up to a saline drip and my chest feels like there is an elephant sitting on it now. Each day since Thursday evening a new symptom has reared its ugly head. This morning it is what I suspect is the beginning of a cold sore on my nose which is par for the course after going through as many tissues as I have, even if they are the ones soaked in vick's lotion. Despite my great discomfort we managed to get Kelsey dropped off at JBA and she is having a great time. Her first class is this morning and I'm certain she was excited to start. Will had a great time with his Grandma Dotty who took him to a lego exhibit at Union Station where they built a robot...his idea of nirvana! Chris was awsome yesterday taking Will to the pool and to McDonalds and allowing me to shower, stick my head in the sink with a towel over it and the hot water flowing. I drank lots of hot tea...green and mint. I also made chicken noodle soup. I think it will take me a week to get the watkins menthol rub smell off my chest and neck and I slept with a Ricola wedged in my cheek like a squirrel so as not to be coughing constantly. Today I am feeling marginally better and will do my best to be less whiney...forgive me this narcissistic post-it can't get any worse, right?