I had a really good time this evening. I was invited to join B.E.T.A., which stands for Bettering Endicott Through Action, but originally started out as part of Beta Sigma Phi (I think). B.E.T.A. is a group of women who put on various projects to benefit the town of Endicott, and also take care of the town's park (I had no idea!). The meeting turned out to be very fun; it's really a great group of women, and they were very welcoming and accommodating of me and Kayla (the boys stayed home). This was just a membership drive sort of meeting; the next real meeting is next Wednesday. I'm joining. I've even agreed to put on a craft project for December, though I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.
Today was also our weekly trip into town for errands. First stop was at the clinic, for Kayla's two-month checkup. She weighs 12 pounds 2 ounces, and I didn't catch her length. She's healthy, of course, so she got her first three shots - HiB, DPT, and IPV. She cried while getting her shots, but a bit of nursing calmed her down well enough. (She's having a mild reaction as I'm writing this at 11:30PM, but it's just a mild fever and intermittent fussiness.) After that, we went to the bank, grange, and grocery store. Nothing exciting.
Yesterday we went to the clinic for a visit for me. I've been having trouble with my back for far too long, and Dr. P mentioned that Dr. L does manual adjustments. It seems to have worked fairly well, but I overdid the standing up yesterday and so I'm all achy again today. Speaking of my back, I've been going for walks on the property every afternoon. My goal is to walk farther each day than I did the day before. I think it'll be good for me, even though soon I'll be tromping through snow.
Today was a busy, productive day. Adam went to his first day of Storytime at the Endicott library, and Kayla and I tagged along. They started out letting the kids color pictures with markers, then showed various pictures of cats asking questions like, "What is this kitty doing?", read a story about a cat and a puppy, then had the kids all do a "craft" - pieces of foam and googly eyes glued to a piece of cardboard to make a cat. This was all followed by encouragement to the kids to go choose books, which is the part Adam had been trying to get to throughout. He was very well behaved, but I think it will take a few more visits before he really groks the whole notion of directed group activity. He chose three books to check out.
After that, we drove over to McDonald's so Adam could play in the balls and troll for friends again. We scored a cheeseburger and fries for him, a fish sandwich for me, and chicken nuggets to share. There were a few other children there, but the first group was done playing by the time Adam started, and the little girl that came in after we got there was still eating when Adam was ready to leave, thus he didn't play very long. We stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home for chocolate shakes. I think we're going to make this a Friday tradition; it gave us all a manageable "out" together, and Adam both needs and appears to enjoy the interaction with other kids.
After I got home, I started sewing on a quilt for Lyn and Steve that I had wanted to have completely finished a month ago. Details about it at my new quilt diary, if you're interested. I made a little progress on the quilt before infant fussiness put an end to those plans. Later in the evening, I did several loads of laundry, including folding and putting away some that has been done for weeks. I'm not the greatest housekeeper in the world, but we do all have clean clothes to wear on a regular basis. We ate a very yummy dinner, then had a family walk together. This is a new tradition, started by me mostly so that I'll get some exercise each day, and hopefully improve my back which gives me fits all too often. Tonight's walk got started too late; it was already getting dark and cold, so I briskly did my walk while Mike chased Adam around and carried Kayla in the sling. We both agreed that future walks would need to happen before dinner rather than after, especially since it's getting dark sooner now.
Yesterday was our weekly trip to town. We started out at the doctor's office. Adam needed a booster, and I needed my post-baby check, plus to ask about a few other nagging things (sinus congestion, sore knees, sore back, sore heel). Dr. P gave me some exercises to do to help strengthen my back, gave me a referral to one of his partners who does chiropractic-type adjustments, and diagnosed me with tendonitis. He suggested anti-inflammatory medication for both the back and the heel, and said if that didn't make things better in a couple of weeks, he'd give me another shot of steroids. I also did my Pap smear and pelvic check. He confirmed everything seemed to be where it should.
The rest of the trip was pretty normal, except that we dropped off several things in the safe deposit box at the bank and opened a savings account for Kayla. We also picked up Mike's new glasses, which look pretty much just like the old ones.
Tuesday and Wednesday I mostly laid around with a bad back that I hurt on Monday. See, Monday was a meeting of the Needlers, at which we started sewing the 2004 Patchin' People raffle quilt. That's all well and good, except that as part of this get-together, I was cutting some strips of fabric at a kitchen counter that was too low. Between that and carrying a carseat around, I threw out my back. Again. I will really be glad when (if?) this gets well and strong enough that it doesn't happen so often.
I'm in a very upbeat mood this morning, which is a good thing, because yesterday sucked sh*t through a soda straw. I don't really know how to explain it, but I was depressed and angry all day yesterday. I congratulate myself on having not lashed out at Mike or the kids too much, and I thank Mike for his quickness to take the kids off my hands. I guess everybody has bad days.
Saturday I took Kayla to Spokane and had a "Chick Night" with my friend Liz and her cousin Becky. We saw the movie Good Girl (depressing, but with several funny adult moments) and had dinner at Azteca Mexican Restaurant. We chatted and chatted til I thought the waiter was going to toss us out and Kayla started getting funny, then decided to go back to Liz's house and chat. Unbeknownst to me, I kept everybody up until 11:30, then drove home. I got in at 1:30 (thereabouts) and Mike said Adam had just fallen asleep.
Kayla was really well-behaved the whole night. At the movie, she nursed and cooed and gurgled and made diaper noises (commentary on the movie, I thought), but didn't cry. At the restaurant, she slept most of the time, nursed, and started to get a little gassy just as we were leaving. At Liz's house, she was more cranky, but then it was her cranky time of night and I think she was afraid of Liz's dogs - Mack is a big Rottweiler, and Sasca is a Rottweiler mix. Mack, much like our own dog Shay, thought I was doing something terribly wrong that he could rectify by slurping her head and sniffing her butt.
Friday, I took both kids over to Pullman. I had to drop off a couple of quilts at the quilt shop anyway, so I took the boy over to McDonald's to play ("go Matt-donnow's, pay inna balls, see some friends"). Also made stops at the post office, library, and bank. It was a good trip, but it was too hot, and toddlers do not mix well with quilt shops. Lesson learned.
Thursday I was home alone with the kids so Mike could go do errands on his own, including getting new tires on the truck. Really, it wasn't that bad. Monday was my first guild meeting of the season. I really, really enjoy my guild meetings - I find them fun and inspiring, and love seeing what all of the other women are making. It was also the first day for most of them to see Kayla. They called me up in the front to show her off. A couple of the women held her and said she was sweet and well-behaved. I beamed, of course. ;)
At the end of the meeting, the ladies from the Needlers (the small subgroup I belong to) presented me with a quilt that they had made for Kayla. It's a flannel rag quilt (picture forthcoming, I promise) that alternates plain blocks with applique'ed stars. She loves the feel of it, and we were using it to lay her down on for naps until she... christened it. Have to get it washed. :) I cried when they gave me the quilt; it was a very thoughtful, kind gesture.
It's been so long since I've updated that lots of other stuff has happened. Nothing really stands out in memory, though, except the fair. That was last weekend, and the quilt I put in got a blue ribbon (picture forthcoming, I promise). I thought I'd have more to put in, but I guess that just about everything I've made this year has been given away. Hopefully, that won't be the case by next fair. Other than the ribbon, it was pretty much fair as usual. I always remember the food as being much better than it actually is, for some reason. I've given up all hope of the Chinese booth redeeming itself, for example, and the burgers are just... sad. Adam enjoyed the popcorn, though, and some of the games.
I've got Adam on the waiting list for the PS I Love Your playgroup. This is like a once-a-week daycare, except that you don't just drop your kids off and go do your thing. A parent is required to stay on the premises throughout the whole playtime. I heard about the group through my doctor, whose wife takes their daughter on Thursdays. There's a waiting list for both Thursday and Tuesday, but I hope he gets in. He seems to really enjoy and look forward to the times he can play with other children, so it's a good idea to provide him with more of those types of opportunities. Maybe some of the other parents will drop out. :)