Tim's parents came to visit last Sunday and stayed with us until yesterday afternoon, with a mini-trip to Myrtle Beach in the middle to see friends. It was such a welcome change to our routine to have them here. It always is, but particularly last Sunday. It had been a tough weekend, with not a lot of sleep for me to begin with, and a lot of things to do. Then Delaney came out of her room on Saturday night to tell us her ear hurt. And no matter what we did, she kept coming out. Ibuprofen didn't help. A warm compress didn't help. I ended up just getting back out of bed at midnight and staying up with her in the living room to try to get her comfortable enough so that we could both get some sleep. But that was not happening, and she was in so much discomfort she couldn't even sit still. So I decided there was no sense in waiting until morning for a visit to the ER, and I took her there around 3 a.m. It turned out she had an ear infection and within a couple hours we were back home with a prescription for Amoxicillin, and we were alternating doses of Tylenol and Motrin every few hours to manage the pain and fever. So it was extra nice have their visit to look forward to after all of that.
Delaney was back to being herself by Monday night, but I kept her home from school on Tuesday and Wednesday because she still had a fever. That was the first ever ear infection for us.
Here are some pictures from the week. Some were taken by me and some were taken by Tim Sr. We didn't do anything too exciting, and Tim didn't take off work, so it was just a laid-back fall visit with some trips to parks and downtown, a lot of which happened without me, as I was home enjoying some time to myself when they took the kids out.
Out to dinner on Tim's birthday. We're studying the menu hard -- tough decisions to be made.
This is what Tim's parents got him for his birthday.
Kidding! But a new lunchbox, book, bag of M&Ms, and homemade cards from the kids are nice to get too.
I can hold your hand OR I can hold the groceries, Grandma.
Grandma found her dream car, eyelashes and all. Too bad she just bought a new Subaru.
After Tim came home from work on Friday we went downtown for the kids' fun run and packet pickup for our race the next morning. It seemed to me the kids' run was better organized this year, and there was no chaotic herding of kids from one place to another. The little runners were all so cute. The grownups were funny too, practically tripping over each other to get a picture of their kid. I know I'm lucky I didn't run into a tree or a sign or another parent.
Delaney and I had to squish together in the third row with Annie.
Walking to the convention center
High fives for the big panther
Delaney and a couple pals waiting for the pre-race warm-up to start
Just like last year, Delaney was in the 5 - 6 age group. But they were a LOT faster this year. The others took off right away, leaving her far behind. Little Delaney brought up the rear with the law enforcement trainees jogging along behind. I said to Tim at one point, "Look, there's one kid behind her. She's not last!" Tim said, "That kid's not even in the race. He's a 3-year-old." Oops. They ran twice around the course, so about a half-mile. I know that would have been tough for me to do at the age of 6.
She reminded me of a famous celebrity with her detail of bodyguards running along with her.
Look at her big smile. She was having fun, that's the most important thing.
Phew.
Obligatory sister picture
Early Saturday morning, Tim and I snuck away while everyone else slept to go back downtown and run the 10K. This year has been a really good running year for Tim and a bad one for me. At the starting line I just prayed that I wouldn't do too miserably, with my sore knee and legs that turn to lead after two miles during all my "training runs." After we reached the other side of the big bridge and the two-mile point, Tim gave me the iPhone and said, "See you at the finish line." He loped off and that was the last I saw of him until we were done. After I crossed the finish line, Tim heard my phone go off. Our results had already been texted to us. High tech! Tim had shaved a couple minutes off his time last year, and finished at 47:16. I had added a couple minutes on to my time last year, with a chip time of 51:51. Last year we did it in 49:48 and 49:50, respectively, with Tim being first. I was really amazed at Tim's improvement in a year, and I told him, "I think your best days might still be ahead!" As for my own time, I was just pleased that my knee didn't hurt too much and I didn't have to go too slow. Later on, the complete results were posted online and I was shocked to see I'd placed first in my division (women age 30-34). Tim placed second in his (men age 35-39), and that was not at all surprising.
When we got back home Tim and his dad went to the commissary, and then we had a lazy day at home until it was time to take them to the airport. I hope they had as much fun as we did. Now we are counting the days until Tim's sister Karen comes to visit in November.
Today was a beautiful early fall day, and we spent the morning at Belvedere Plantation in Fredericksburg, VA. We told Delaney last night that's where we were going, and this morning it was the first thing she asked about. "Pumpkin patch? Animals?" She asked about it the whole car ride there. It's fun now that she's old enough to actually anticipate things and get excited about them, even if that means she gets a little impatient too. I know that this is also the precursor to "Are we there yet?"
We got there right when it opened, and that's good, because it got crowded pretty quickly. First we went to the bouncy thing (I don't know what they're really called), and Delaney had a lot of fun in that. We could have just stayed there and she would have been happy. Next, we took a hayride to a pumpkin patch, which Delaney really enjoyed. The pumpkin patch was kind of anticlimactic, I have to say. We got there and just looked around like, "OK, now what?" We didn't actually pick our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, contrary to what we'd talked about all morning. We got back on the hayride five minutes later, and didn't get a pumpkin until it was time to leave. We picked the pretty ones from the store, like a friend had suggested. If it had meant a lot to Delaney to pick her own pumpkin (and had she actually been able to lift a pumpkin), we would have let her pick her own.
After that we went to the barnyard, where Delaney visited with pigs and goats. The pigs were very friendly toward her, especially considering she had no food to give them. She touched their backs, noses and ears, and tried coaxing one of them out of the dirt. "Wake up, piggy, wake up!" Then she tried to feed the goats dirt. We could have bought pellets for the poor kid, but we had no change. Oh well.
I thought it would be a great idea to put Delaney on a pony. She liked it alright, but didn't seem crazy about the experience. I think when she gets a little older, she'll be thrilled to ride on a pony, but not yet. At least she wasn't scared. Tim walked along with her, taking care not to step in pony poop.
Delaney also played in a big sand box and rode on toy tractors. Running around in the hot sun wore us all out. We had a nice lunch of burgers, pulled pork sandwiches and fries in a picnic shelter. There was a cool breeze and no flies [the same can't be said for our own kitchen!], and it was very relaxing. Delaney had her very own 100% sugar fountain drink that she slurped down contentedly on her dad's lap. Life doesn't get much better than that!
After picking out a big pumpkin for Delaney and a little one for Annalise, we were on our way home. The ride back up 95 was surprisingly quick for a Saturday afternoon.
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