whirlwind weeks

Yep, I am still here. Our days have been going by at a crazy pace, even though I haven't recorded any of it here. And the spare moments have not motivated me to blog about it all. Sorry, Crystal.

In the past few weeks:

•  Forest was here for a week. We went to Tulsa and the zoo, ate at Steak n' Shake, and went to Locomotion for some mini golf and go-carts (I hate go-carts, but I love my brother). Lots of pictures to share...
• We went to Little Rock for River's post-op follow-up with the urologist. The entire appointment lasted only a matter of minutes. The surgeon asked about recovery while I undressed River, gave him a quick look, and said we would not need any further visits unless another complication came up (none are expected). And since Gabe took the day off from work to drive all the way to Little Rock, we made a day of it and rode the trolley downtown, played on the most amazing playground near the River Market, had some lunch, and the kids slept nearly the entire drive home. It was a great day.
• I have been working Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for the past 2 weeks. And that's the main reason I haven't been blogging. Brighthaven, the childcare and pre-school where my mom is the assistant director, abruptly lost their kitchen manager and needed some help until they can fill the position. The boys get to come along and spend the day at the center with their respective age groups. This arrangement is fantastic for Liam . He loves going to school, and everytime I see him, he has a huge grin on his face. When I deliver the meals to his class, he proudly announces That's my mom, and all of the kids beam at me like I am a celebrity or something. River, on the other hand, tolerates the day. His teacher is perfect for him: sweet, mild-mannered, and very nurturing. He loves her. And he enjoys playing with the plastic noise-making toys. But, he misses me and I always have to get someone else to deliver the meals or slide the cart through the door like a phantom so he doesn't see me. It's hard to watch someone else comfort my baby. But it's not likely to last much longer. And in the meantime, we aren't complaining about the extra paycheck...
• Last night was the first hard freeze of the season. Down into the 20's. I picked all of the basil and green tomatoes, and now I have to figure out what to do with it all. I already have too many jars of pesto in my freezer. And my fig tree is covered in the first-ever fruits that have yet to ripen. I'm afraid they may be  a lost cause for the year, despite the protective sheets Gabe and I wrapped around the plant.  

• 
• Notice the suspiciously iphone-esque picture of my fig tree? That's because I finally got one, and I love it. The technology is amazing (it's a 4s and I am a very lucky girl). I had to promise a portion of my monthly bib-sewing income to cover the data package, but it is totally worth it.
• And River has an appointment with yet another specialist. This time, we are going to see an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor at Children's in Little Rock since he has a number of other medical issues, he is already an established patient on their campus, and we have met the maximum out-of-pocket expenses for the year. This will all be on the insurance company's tab, thank you very much. At least until Janury. But in the meantime, we are hoping to figure out what is ging on with his chronic ear infections (he's got another double whammy right now and is just miserable), and we are hoping that might explain why he still isn't really talking.

I think that's all the updates for now. I will try to do better about posting more regularly. I've got a ton of pictures languishing on my hard drive, and a bunch that I have yet to transfer from my camera. And I still have managed plenty of sewing, gardening, and woodworking. And Gabe has been hard at work finishing up a deck rail that, of course, turned into a much larger project and a fort for the boys besides. Like I said, we've been busy.