Happy St. Patrick's Day! And what a glorious day it was--mid-70s and sunny. It surely is the warmest St. Patrick's Day in my life. Where were these warm breezes when we were seated along the Chicago parade route basking in the glory of the 1980s?

Anyway, we had a fun day. Our early morning photo shoot was a bit frenetic as I tried to capture the festive t-shirts before whatever might befall them at daycare. (They actually made it through relatively unscathed.) During naptime I pulled out the grill and wiped down the patio table for our "Irish picnic" dinner--first grilled burgers of the season! I also converted our stroller to give Ed the option to sit or stand--one of the features that led to its selection last year. He still wanted to sit, but was more willing to walk along for a bit knowing he could get in and out easily. We took it for a spin up to the park for a little while and enjoyed lots of climbing and sliding. Daniel accidentally tackled a little girl--first time he's made a girl (other than his mom) cry. She definitely wasn't hurt, and her dad said she was "sensitive," but I still felt bad. He just lost his balance near her and ended up falling on her. I had him blow her a kiss while her dad held her for a few minutes and she seemed to recover, though she would not go near him again.

We blocked off the porch door with a sturdy patio chair so the kids would not be tempted to leave the porch while the coals were heating on the grill. (Mom: no worries, I was right there the whole time; the chair was just the visual reminder that we were staying in.) This basketball shot shows (I think) the full glory of Ed's outfit, including shamrock sweats recovered from the "archives" at my parents' house over the weekend. The elastic isn't quite as stretchy as it might have been once, but the drawstring keeps them up. He was very impressed with himself, though he did decide to change to shorts once John got home.

While I was getting dinner together, playtime apparently devolved to belly rubbing. Guess you gotta go with your strengths when it comes to sporting endeavors.


Dinner was great, though Daniel was more into the bun (and chips) than the hamburger. Ed still calls them "han-ga-burgers" and devoured his along with tons of carrots. Guess all the fresh air makes them hungry. Tired, too, if these photos are any indication. All in all, a great day. Looking forward to many more as the weather stays nicer. 50s forecast the rest of the week--not exactly tropical, but definitely no longer winter. A note at daycare telling parents to take all winter gear (snow pants, extra hats/mittens, etc.) home truly signals the onset of spring.

As mentioned, we spent the weekend with my parents and had fun with them as well as visiting aunts, uncle and cousins. Saturday morning we went for a ride on the "el" because Edward has been saying for weeks that he wanted to ride on a train. He frequently asks if we can go to the dry cleaner on the way home from daycare because that route involves three separate train crossings. I used to dread the lowering of the gates and the flashing lights, but now I'm actually driving out of my way to try to find them. Anyway, he was definitely interested in the train experience, but didn't gush with excitement. I think it was a lot to take in. We only rode five stops north and then got off and waited on the other side of the platform for the southbound return. The park at the end might have been a highlight. We'd never seen a spinner quite like this one, but Ed got a kick out of it. His cousin Katherine wasn't too sure. Nora almost got blackmail video of John trying it out, but he saw the camera too soon. For more weekend photos, check out my sister's blog.

We've hit the highlights; now for the lowlight. While we were there I came down with strep throat. AGAIN! Ugh! This was Saturday night and not severe enough for an ER trip, so my dad made me some tea and I found some (unexpired) Tylenol and went to bed. Daniel was also suffering with an ear infection that had been diagnosed on Thursday. Since he wasn't running a fever they recommended just treating the pain with topical anesthetic ear drops, but gave us an antibiotic prescription in case that didn't do the trick. Sunday morning, after two nights of multiple scream-fests, we sent PopPop to Walgreens to fill the prescription. Sunday night he slept like a baby...which, of course, he is. Wish we'd just filled it right away, but I do understand that not everything needs to be treated this way.

I went to the doctor Monday morning and once again the "15-minute" rapid strep test was showing positive in less than five minutes. Amoxicilin this time and things are improving. I like that it's only a twice a day med. This bout definitely was not as bad as the last, but I have no need to keep repeating this pattern just to prove I can survive it.

This week is the university's spring break, which does not mean staff holiday, but which does mean a week off from my class. It reminds me of what I like about NOT being in school. I kind of feel like it's over since I'm not thinking about homework or planning my week around the Thursday night away from home. However, we still have four weeks to go. I'll survive--statistics is boring, but at least it's formulaic.