We did a thing...

As you may recall, back in the summer I really wanted to do something fun to close it out, but Carter's ulcerative colitis flare really put a damper on things.  Once the Toronto Blue Jays made the playoffs, and Carter was feeling better, Craig talked about taking him to a game.  But of course, playoff tickets are pricey and it honestly seemed a little over the top, so I encouraged him to let that idea go.  But once they made the World Series, it ramped up again, and I think he recalled saying to Carter at one point at the peak of his illness, "If the Jays make the World Series, we'll go."  Well...they did, in fact, make the World Series.  

He brought up to me the idea of taking him right around when tickets were going on sale, and I once again was like, "no way, that is going to be way too expensive."  But he really, really wanted to do this, and ended up buying a couple tickets via resale, since all of the official queues were hundreds of thousands of people long.  However, when Jacob found out they were going to Game 1, he felt a little slighted.  Not only would it be cool to go regardless, but he brought up that he had wanted to go to a Raptors game when they were in the playoffs (and ultimately won the championship), and we said it was too expensive.  And truthfully, they were probably cheaper than the Jays tickets at the time.  To be fair, our financial situation is a bit different now, and we did go up to try to get into Jurassic Park outside the arena during the conference finals.  He also got to go to the championship parade, although that wasn't the best experience, but it's not like we didn't try to do something for him.  But in his brain, this felt pretty unfair, which I get.  

Because the resale market was so strong, Craig figured he could resell the tickets he had for a small profit to offset some of the cost of buying an additional ticket.  But honestly, if the three of them were going to go,  I didn't really want to be left out.  I mean, I sacrifice a lot for my family, but if we're going to give the kids a core memory like this one, I sort of wanted to be there to experience it, too.  So Craig did resell his two to buy four.  It definitely cost more overall, but this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I just tried to let it go and look forward to it.

But in the subsequent days, going to the game felt a bit overwhelming.  Jacob had to miss some school because of appointments, and after Carter's infusion early in the week I hated for him to miss more school, but we really had to get going earlier in the day to account for traffic.  On top of it being crazy expensive and the logistics and costs overwhelming, there was a point where it looked like we'd be better off selling our two and just letting Craig and Carter go alone.

But then I got back to thinking about what an opportunity this truly was--none of us had ever been to a World Series game (and only Craig had gone to a playoff game), and this one was within driving distance AND featured Carter's favorite team (which was one of my faves growing up and the Buffalo Bisons' current parent team).  How often do you get an opportunity like that?  So, we pressed on, picked up the kids a bit early, and loaded up the car with snacks and some basic overnight bags in case we needed to sleep at my parents' on the way back.  I knew it would be a late night either way, but again, this was pretty much a one-time opportunity, so a little discomfort would hopefully be worth it.

We would have liked to leave earlier than we did and stay longer, but due to school and a Jacob appointment he didn't want to reschedule, as well as Craig needing to work Saturday and Carter's last baseball game, it was going to be a quick trip up and back.  We got on the road later than would have been ideal because of the appointment, but we were still within our window for getting there on time despite traffic.  I drove up, and for the most part, the first half was pretty decent.  We got a little stuck at the border behind a car that got detained, but otherwise, it wasn't bad until we hit Hamilton rush hour.  That was a bit slow, then it eased up when we got to the carpool lane past Burlington, then it got thick again.  As we got to the city, it diverted us off the highway on to Lakeshore Blvd., which was also very slow.  Things got a little heated with the GPS giving us some confusing directions and Craig getting a little uppity about me needing to change things or misunderstanding where to go.  I wasn't trusting the other drivers (because it's chaos there, city driving is different, and I'm still scarred from my accident), but he was clearly worried about not getting there on time.  We got through it, found our parking relatively easily (all things considered), and had a very short walk to the stadium (once we found each other, since they started walking out without me and I thought I knew how to meet back up with them from where I was--I was wrong, as there were apparently two elevators).

It was so exciting being at the stadium with so much excitement going on.  

And of course, there's nothing like that CN Tower view.  

It was cool to see the top of the TD Bank building lit up with a Blue Jays logo!

I had wanted to try to find the guy that plays the drums outside the stadium, as he's one of my favorite first Blue Jays memories and he's retiring now, but unfortunately we couldn't find him.  He wasn't where I last remembered him being, and it was so busy outside and the boys were in such a rush to get in (mostly for bathroom use) that we had to give up.  Once we got in, it was pretty jam-packed.  We did a bathroom run and thought about going to the team store, but we discovered that there was a line that went across the concourse and up multiple ramps just to get into the store.  We were about 40 minutes from gametime at that point and we definitely wanted to see the pregame festivities, plus we were all pretty hungry, so we opted to go up to our level, get food, and settle in.  We'd have to do the store later.  

On our way up, we saw the live TV broadcast setup, complete with David Ortiz and Derek Jeter (and Alex Rodriguez was probably there somewhere, too).  That was pretty cool, to be honest--even if I didn't like them much when they played (aside from when the Red Sox finally broke the curse).

On the way up, we caught this picture.  I realized later there were other hats in other concourses...should have grabbed one with the hat they were wearing that night!

Carter is wearing the World Series scarf we got at the gates, and holding the Jays rally towel.  Those were pretty good souvenirs on their own!  We found our section and got in a food line.  Carter got chicken fingers, Craig got a hot dog, and Jacob and I had poutine--safe for him and really good!  And appropriately Canadian, of course.

Getting to our seats was pretty surreal.  To see that World Series logo on the field and realize what was about to take place felt rather monumental and was a definite "pinch me" moment.  Knowing so many Jays fans and Canadians in general wanted to be there so bad was not lost on me--I tried to savor every second.

The pomp and circumstance of a World Series game was pretty cool.
 

The first pitch was thrown out by Cito Gaston, who managed the last Jays' World Series teams.  He looked pretty old, but then I realized I was in high school, younger than Jacob, when that happened, so...yeah, he's allowed.

The anthems were performed by a giant choir.  It was pretty impressive and the flags they created in the outfield were amazing. 

I'm not gonna lie, though--the Canadian one was much more stirring for me.  The whole country feels like it's behind this team, and honestly, with all of the politics and crap lately, I probably align with Canada far more than half of my own country.  So for that one night, I wanted to be an honorary Canadian, for sure.  You couldn't help but sing along with the anthem with that crowd, as into it as they were.

We were about three rows from the top of the stadium, but I loved those seats.  My first Jays game was in the first row of the upper deck behind home plate when I was around 11 or 12, and I was obsessed.  As a couple we'd had some rough experiences in the upper deck previously, after which Craig insisted he'd never sit up there again.  But, of course, this was a necessary exception and I actually loved the view from up there as a short person who could finally see everything, for a change.

I did rely on my real camera to zoom in on some details, though.  This is Trey Yesavage, the starting pitcher.  He started this season playing Single A ball, moved up to Double A, then played for the Bisons before getting called up in September.  And now he was rocking it in the World Series.  He pitched awesome in this game (and in Game 5) and broke a bunch of records--and not just rookie ones.

I caught Vladdy doing his writing thing that he always does.

And, of course, it was also notable to see maybe one of the best players that has ever played the game.  Right now I can't like him, but Shohei Ohtani is already a living legend and he's pretty impressive to watch.

Then there was Ernie Clement.  He's the Jays' third baseman, and he's originally from Rochester!  He's had an amazing playoff season, and it was so cool to see him do well (and have a Bills Zubaz pattern on the "Ern-Dogg" screen they'd put up for him).

The Dodgers got a couple runs early, but the Jays couldn't score when they had the bases loaded.  It got a little discouraging until Daulton Varsho hit a two-run homer to tie the game.  Watching it go out was a little nervewracking because we had realized that in those seats, the angle for gauging a homer vs. a standard fly ball was a bit confusing.  So when that one went, it seemed like it was going to go out, but we just couldn't be sure.  But when it hit the wall, the place went nuts!

After that, Carter and I headed out to get some water and had to do another photo op.

Then along came the sixth inning.  It started innocently enough, a man on, then a single, a hit batter, a walked-in run, another single, and then...bases loaded and Addison Barger came to the plate.  When he hit that ball and it sailed up and out for a grand slam, the entire place was bedlam!  

Everyone was high-fiving everyone--the guy in front of us and my seatmate were particularly excited.  It was absolute joy and complete pandemonium!  It felt like a dream at that point to be seeing such an amazing game.  And they weren't done yet.  Not long after, Vladdy got on base and Alejandro Kirk came up and hit a home run of his own!  Nine runs in one inning.  Crazy!  It was so exciting.

The crowd was so into it!  At one point, the whole crowd started singing "Hey Baby".

The energy was unreal and it felt so special to witness it.  After that big inning, the only really notable moment was Ohtani hitting a home run, which I guess was pleasantly historic to see, in some weird way, but thankfully we had enough of a lead that it didn't feel too scary.  It was still nervewracking for the pitchers to get through the remaining innings, but man, that last strikeout was exhilarating!

The line score was quite a sight with that 9!

It couldn't have been a better game or a better night.  Of course, that made me nervous that something stupid on the way home would ruin it (and indeed, there were a lot of deer), but at this point, it absolutely felt worth all the money and the stress.  Just an awesome core memory to make as a family, from start to finish.  

The mood in the concourse on the way down from our seats was so jovial--singing and chants and general joy. 

We snapped a couple pics on the way out, and then headed back to the store.

The line was still a mile long, but Craig wanted to get something for his mom and we'd otherwise just be sitting in traffic, so we waited.  It probably only took about 15-20 minutes to get in.  It was a little chaotic in there, but we finally found what we were looking for.  Once we got outside, Carter grabbed a hot dog from a street vendor (growing boy up about 20 pounds now) and we got waters to take into the car.  By this point it was after midnight, which wasn't really ideal, but again, worth it.  

The drive home was relatively smooth--very little traffic getting out of the city and smooth sailing on the QEW.  The boys dozed off pretty quickly and Craig drove like a champ, long into the night.  We had talked about stopping to sleep at my parents' house, but I kept forgetting to ask, and then once we were over the border I didn't have cell service and could only message my mom through Messenger.  She never saw it, and obviously we didn't want to show up at their house at 3am, so we just had to push through.  It was really only an extra hour, so not horrible, especially when it meant we wouldn't have an extra drive in the morning.  

I checked the GPS route as we got closer to the border and realized it was routing us to the Peace Bridge instead of the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.  I surmised that the same construction that rerouted us the previous year when it closed that route from the bridge to the QEW had shifted to the other side in the same spot this year.  When we got to the Peace Bridge around 3am, there was only one lane open and maybe eight cars backed up, and the line wasn't moving at all.  They opened another lane, but we were stuck in the slow one, and eventually they diverted that car off after about five cars had gone through the other lane.  We finally got through, and I took over driving about 45 minutes from home to give Craig a break.  It was a relief to get home, but boy, was that four hours of sleep not enough!  Craig had to get up to work bright and early, and I had to get up to put pork in the crock pot for pulled pork for our family Oktoberfest at Lori's that afternoon.  I'll get into that and the rest of the week soon.

As I was finishing typing this, the Dodgers won Game 6 to send the series to a Game 7 (after a fantastic Jays win the other night to take the series lead).  That was a bummer, but let's hope the Jays find that Game 1 spark once again in Game 7.  But what a fantastic experience that night was, and I hope we remember it forever.

Dog Days

I've written here many times about the various requests in our house to get a dog.  Jacob in particular has gone through numerous phases of really wanting a dog, and while I admit it might help with his anxiety, I also know that I only have so much time, energy, and bandwidth to deal with a pet.  Pets need walks, food, medical care, cleaning, and cleaning up after.  They're often not cheap to acquire, let alone maintain.  If we travel we need to make arrangements (also pricey), and even just leaving the house can be an adventure--I definitely would have trust issues.  And let's just say I'm well aware that most of those responsibilities would fall on me.  Not that you don't love your pet and want to take care of them, but I spend so much time managing the needs of the people in this house (and the house itself) that I just don't think I could add one more thing into the mix.

But then my cousin Lori and her husband got a dog, and she's literally the sweetest dog you'll ever meet.  They had planned a trip to Texas for a long weekend, and when we saw them over my birthday weekend, they asked if we would consider dog-sitting while they were gone.  It seemed like a perfect opportunity to test out the dog situation, especially because she's such a chill dog.  So, we did a test run for an evening a couple weeks ago, and last Wednesday night Honey officially came to stay with us for five days.  

We got the full assortment of instructions from her parents, which I totally respect because I have left a novel with my parents for keeping our kids, too.  She was once again a bit bummed when they left, and we once again did what we could to comfort her--walks, treats after potty breaks, and lots of pets.  I definitely became her person (because I was the only one doing most of the work--shocking, I know), so she never went far.  She pretty much just watched me cook dinner and hung close while I cleaned up.

I did catch this beauty shot while we were outside.

She made her first friend while out on that potty break.  The dog lives a few houses down across the street.  I think he's a bull terrier (think Spuds Mackenzie or the Target dog) and his name is Fredo.  He was very eager to meet Honey, and when I confirmed she was friendly, they got to sniff each other.  Fredo really wanted to play, but Honey...is not much of a player.  She was rescued from a breeding situation so I don't think she ever really learned how.  She watches you, snuggles you, sniffs everything, but isn't really into playing.  We did play a little bit with a foam football over the weekend, but she nearly strangled herself on her lead when she got overexcited, and then was chewing the ball apart, so that didn't last long.  She almost got playful with blowing leaves, though, which was really cute.

Even though she normally doesn't go to bed until later, she seemingly had a tiring first day because she was nodding off around 8pm.  I caught the sweetest video, much like sleepy babies that fight it at the dinner table.

I did call it a win when she finally rested her head on my leg that night.  It felt like maybe she was settling in a bit and trusting me.  However, for most of the night, she kept seeming like she wanted to go out, and while I suppose that's the main thing to spice up her existence, I swear it was because she was looking for her people.  On our last trip out, an SUV that looked a lot like theirs drove into the driveway across the street.  She watched it like a hawk, hoping it was them.  She would look at me, almost like she was saying, "Look, it's dark now and time for me to go home...where are they?"  Even once we came back in, she was hesitant to go upstairs to go to bed because she probably wanted to keep an eye out for them and wanted to go home to her own bed.  We finally coaxed her upstairs, and convinced her to come up on the bed.  I would have gladly let her sleep elsewhere (if you recall, I do terrible with toddlers in bed), but she was pretty bonded to me so I figured it was inevitable.  Sure enough, she slept at my side all night.  She was very chill, though she woke up a bit (as did I for a couple reasons), but aside from being trapped in a tiny space from Craig encroaching on my space on the other side, it wasn't bad.  She sleeps on her side with her paws out, so I definitely felt them, but she wasn't a bad snuggle buddy.

She did great with staying calm until it was time to get up, and then it seemed like maybe she was ready to go out, even though normally I think she gets up later and prefers to eat before she goes out.  Of course the weather got downright chilly the previous day, so our morning walk was a bit brisk, but she loves a good wander and sniff.  I felt bad making lunches in front of her, so I gave her her breakfast a little early.  Jacob was having a rough morning (tired and annoyed about his leg hurting him yesterday), and when we went in to get him up, she hopped right on his bed and snuggled him a bit.  It was really sweet, and more proof that dogs are super perceptive.  

She spent most of the day snoozing next to me as I worked.  

We'd go out every couple hours, and she barked at the UPS guy and the guy across the street, which may be the first of that I've ever heard from her.  Jacob also scared the crap out of her when she forgot he was home and he opened his bedroom door.  Good to know she thinks I'm worth protecting, I guess?  The barking and growling continued during her whole stay--mostly for trucks and things outside, as well as being suspicious of all the guys when they'd get home.  Craig and Jacob in particular got a lot of barks and growls when they'd walk in the door.  I tried to chill her out, to no avail.  But it still pales in comparison to so many of the neighborhood dogs that bark at everything and everyone, and that I swear are going to break windows to get to me as I walk by.

We had one little hiccup Thursday afternoon because we had to take Jacob to a school thing and she got a bit carsick.  We had been warned, so we brought a blanket and a towel, but the second round on the way back did manage to make its way to the upholstery despite Carter's best efforts.  Thankfully I can't smell--since it apparently smelled when it happened--but it seems like it's okay now after scrubbing and Febreze because even Jacob didn't complain when he was in the car the following day.  But she rebounded nicely and even got a treat of a few spoonfuls of steamed spaghetti squash after our dinner, when I scraped out the last remnants from the skin.  She ate it all up so fast!  We never gave her much people food since she doesn't get a lot at home, but I was always looking for an opportunity to sneak her a dog-safe snack.  I feel like she earned it with her persistent but polite version of begging--she just hangs close when food is around, but doesn't jump or try to get it.  We tried a cucumber another night, but it wasn't the best one from my struggling garden, and she abandoned it.

Her second night she settled at the end of our bed and slept there uneventfully all night.  We still had to figure out the cadence of the morning potty runs, though.  When she was up and around I could just sense when she was ready, and when I'd say it to her, she'd get all jumpy and I knew it was time.  I just tried to throw on some pants and a coat quickly in case she had to go urgently, but she's not so much a pee-and-go dog, so usually it turned into a little stroll (with no makeup and no bra...yay).  Once I figured that routine out, it got easier to know what to expect.

Over the course of the weekend, we got in a pretty good groove, and she even got comfortable enough (and maybe warm enough since the weather improved?) to take a couple good, long walks.  She still smelled almost everything along our path, but she got a pretty good trot going as we neared home most of the time, likely since she'd already sniffed out those areas.  Those walks were fun.  I discovered during this experience that there's a bit of a dog owner secret society out there, that if you have a dog you are almost obliged to talk to another dog owner as you pass by.  There are neighbors I've never said more than hi to, and I've now had full-on conversations with them and know their dogs' names.  One guy was giving me advice about Doodles and asked what I charge for dog-sitting (ha, thanks but no thanks) for his sweet, full-sized black Doodle.  I will miss the bonding opportunities when it's back to solo walks, but I will enjoy going farther again!

Between the car sickness and her being my shadow, I didn't leave the house much while she was here.  I had to miss Carter's baseball game, and I also let Craig take on Carter's third infusion.  We just weren't comfortable leaving her alone since we didn't fully dog-proof the house and didn't know how she'd react if she was alone.  Toys, plants, garbage, food boxes, etc. could have all been her targets if no one was around.  Not to mention the bathroom thing could have gotten weird--she's a good holder, but if trapped in a room she might not be as calm.  So, we just stayed with her the whole time.  The couple times I did leave, she watched for me while I was gone and was SO excited to see me when I got back.  That was sweet.  

I got this picture when I went to pick up dinner on Saturday.  She looks like a Muppet, doesn't she?

Patiently waiting!

After the warm reception I got, I'm curious to see how she is when we go to a party at their house on Saturday!  Will she still love me, or will she have moved on?  But in general, she became my sweet little velcro dog!  She was always right with me.  She laid on the floor while I worked and napped most of the time.  I was relieved to find out she does that at home too, and therefore wasn't missing out on a more exciting existence.  But those puppy dog eyes when I worked?  Oh, man.

Up on my lap looking for pets!

She was definitely loving all the pets and couch snuggles while she was here.  She would constantly roll on her back for belly rubs, and when you stopped petting her you'd get "The Paw", which would encourage you to continue.  The other cute thing was that when I'd go to the bathroom, I'd close the door but leave it cracked, and inevitably she'd poke her little nose in to be able to see me.  I did feel a little bad about getting up and doing things, though, because she was always compelled to follow me.  If she was napping she'd wake up at the slightest movement.  I didn't want to disturb her, but she always had to be near me.  She got a bit better by the end, maybe sitting on the couch if I quickly went to the kitchen, or staying on the bed if I was around the corner in the bathroom.  But if I was out of sight too long, I'd hear the thump of her getting down and following me.  It felt like a lot of pressure sometimes to address her needs, but we managed.  And if there was food around, she was always right there!  She never reached for it, though.  She did drive the boys a little nuts going under the table and sniffing or licking them.  

Speaking of the boys, this experience absolutely validated every reason I had for not getting a dog.  They claim it would be different with OUR dog, but I have my doubts.  Like, if she smelled (her face could get stinky), they wouldn't want her nearby.  Of course, I couldn't smell it, so it's not like I could prevent it.  Then they'd say they would have a non-stinky dog, but ummm, good luck with that.  It just happens.  You also can't control a dog's demeanor or who they choose as their person, so every dog acquisition is a crapshoot.  As expected, no one wanted to take her out or clean up poop.  I think Craig would have done it, but because she bonded to me, they all just sort of gave up on trying to get on her good side.  I was hoping for a little more support to spread out the work, but that didn't happen.  Then everyone started thinking they were allergic to her, which didn't help.  Even though Doodles don't shed and are considered mostly hypoallergenic, that doesn't mean they're dander-free, so I think there was some reaction to that.  I spent the day after she left vacuuming and washing bedding to try to clear that out ASAP.  I don't know if that will rule out keeping her again, but it was frustrating that I couldn't get the boys more on board.  But I definitely felt better about my hard-line decision to not get a dog last year when Jacob was merciless about it.

Just a few more gratuitous puppy pics...

I loved the colors in this one, and how stereotypical is the hydrant?  She did not pee on it, though.  She just liked sniffing out who'd been there.

Last work day nap!

She was obviously very happy to see her people on Monday night when they got back.  I expected nothing less!  I definitely missed having her around--things just felt a bit empty for a while, but I was also a bit relieved to get back to normal life.  A regular morning felt so much simpler, and getting up to go to the bathroom whenever I felt like it was nice.  Five days was just about perfect.  I've decided it's a bit like grandchildren--you have all the fun and less of the responsibility, and can send them home at the end of the day.  I'm cool with that.  I have officially confirmed we definitely cannot do a dog, at least not now, not while I still have kids and a million other things to keep me occupied.  Maybe someday, when I'm old and have fewer responsibilities, and more likely if I'm living alone at any point.  I would consider getting a dog only then for companionship and a reason to get up each day.  But for now, my life is full enough without one.  But I truly liked having her around and miss her sweet face.  My first walk felt a little lonely, and I was a bit sad about being back outside the doggy social circle, but right now that all doesn't override my need to be sane and not overwhelmed with dog duty.  I can totally see how people are all in love with their dogs, though.  It's a sweet little friendship and I'm honored we got to spend some time with such a sweet girl.

Five-Week Progress Report

Last week I was going along my merry way when I read an email from Carter's school mentioning the end of the first five-week marking period.  Say what?  We've been at this school thing five weeks already?  And then I realized open house was this week, as well, and I couldn't quite believe we were already at that stage of the year.  Then I started realizing all of the quickly approaching due dates I had at work that crept up while working on other things, and that pretty much confirmed it--September was a complete time warp for me, and now October is going to fly.

I think the biggest factor was Jacob's school change.  That sort of threw everything off since he was home for a week and a half between illness and the transition, and life just felt on-hold while we waited to pick a school and get the official OK.  Then he was sick again and that took over most of his first full week.  In the meantime, we've been holding our breath a bit watching Carter, hoping his meds continue to do the job they've been doing since the 2nd day of school.  I'm just sort of on edge now that the prednisone has been weaned down and we have to see if the infusions and one other med can stand alone.  I just keep seeing horror stories in the Facebook support group, and while I'm currently thankful that we're not dealing with half of what some people are, I can't help but wonder at what point we might be.  I'm not super stressed, but it's definitely an undercurrent of nerves at the moment.

Add in that September included one working weekend and one traveling weekend, which both kept me preoccupied a bit; my lack of time to get fall decorations up until just last weekend; and a whole bunch of work stuff (including a total rebrand that threw a lot into chaos), and I just felt like I was constantly waiting on things and simply getting through one day at a time.  I have been feeling unfocused and frazzled, and like I haven't been accomplishing nearly what I should be.  Whether that's life stuff, perimenopause, or something else, I'm not entirely sure.

Despite not being all anxiety-ridden like I was a year ago, I'm still finding myself putting off complicated and non-complicated tasks alike.  Like, no, I don't want to use my brain space to coordinate this or that, but also, I sometimes can't even convince myself to put that one thing away in the very clear place where it goes.  Like, why is my brain doing that?  I have no idea.  The rest of my body has joined the malfunctioning party, too, as my tennis elbow from a couple years ago is back in my right arm, and my impingement from a year ago is making a comeback on my left.  I'm getting an endoscopy in a few weeks because my reflux has been bugging me again, too.  My cold that I thought was going away hung in there extra long, but I think it's about 95% gone now.

The cold issue remains a big problem in our house currently, however.  Carter has been sick for weeks.  It seemed like it was getting better and then it made a comeback.  I have no idea if it's a new cold or just his body being too immunocompromised to fight off the one he had.  That's the biggest issue currently with his infusions, that it suppresses the immune system to stop the overreaction that causes the ulcerative colitis, but it also means he'll have a harder time fighting things off now.  And with an autoimmune disease, we can't really use zinc (especially because ours has elderberry) like I normally would, because that can send the immune system back into overdrive and cause a flare.  So we're at the mercy of things like vitamins C and D, and trying to do Omega-3-rich foods.  I know he needs to time his flu shot carefully as well, to stay strong through the worst part of the season, though I need to double-check if we need to take any precautions once he gets that, for how his body might react to the shot itself.

But, of course, the more frustrating issue is that Jacob freaks out anytime there's sickness in the house, so he's been a bit on edge for weeks.  Last weekend he mostly just camped out in his room to avoid Carter, and he refuses to take his morning shower right after Carter was in there.  He insists this is why it would have been better for him to go to Buffalo, but I don't think he realizes he'd still be around plenty of sick classmates and teammates, as well as more people living in the same house, including one of whom I assume is also on immunosuppressants.  But anyway, he's not happy about it.  And I can't entirely blame him, but he just goes a bit over the top about it, which can be exhausting.  He didn't even want to eat a piece of meat that was on the dinner table the other night because Carter was sitting at the table as well--not even coughing or sneezing, just existing.  It's going to be a long winter.

I will say he's chilled out a little with the Buffalo comments, though.  He seems to have settled in a bit more at Bishop Kearney, getting more comfortable with his schedule and his increased homework load.  He's done a few basketball things now, met the athletic trainer, and seems to like the school (and the lack of classroom antics) quite a bit more.  He still has a few things to work out with the coach--like whether certain shoes or shirts are mandatory (which of course he has an issue with), or whether the coach will be understanding if he doesn't participate in conditioning, since he's doing his own conditioning in line with his shin recovery.  We keep reminding him to pick his battles and not act like a problem child right out of the gate, though.  Even if his concerns are valid, which they generally are, we just need to be mindful of how he approaches them, and ensure that his particularity or his attitude don't hurt his chance to play.  The team should be considerably better than his old school, so that's promising, at least.

It's weird, though, how at peace we ended up with this decision.  I remember back when Jacob went to BK the first time, we toured at both BK and Aquinas.  Although Aquinas probably had the better facilities overall, for some reason we just felt more at home at BK.  Even once he went there, I was surprised at how not annoyed I was with the added commute.  It was a significant time investment, but I was weirdly unbothered.  I guess it just felt right.  This time around, Craig was a complete bundle of nerves as we were trying to find the right fit, and once BK came into the conversation, he said a wave of peace came over him.  That gave him the extra assurance that it was the right decision this time around.  And sure enough, even though I was going seemingly halfway across the county twice on Saturday to get Jacob to and from a school thing, it was much the same--I didn't mind it nearly as much as I thought I would.  It just was what it was, and I was mostly just happy he seemed content.  Doing that drive again feels surreal but familiar.  It's been odd being back there after three years.  I can't say it feels like we never left, but it does feel like all is right with the world again, in some weird way.  The fact that he has settled in reasonably well, all things considered, is a comfort to all of us, and I hope it continues.

After a couple busy weekends, last weekend felt like my big chance to catch up.  I felt like I had a million things to do that I'd been putting off or just didn't have the time for.  I slowly worked through most of them--grocery shopping, laundry, finally decorating for fall, baking batch #1 of pumpkin muffins, and lots of other little tasks.  Carter had baseball on Saturday and Jacob and I only stopped in for a bit before he had to go to the BK football game.  We were at baseball just long enough to see Carter's first home run!  It was an inside-the-parker.  There was really only one iffy throw that probably stretched it from a triple to a homer, but he hit it pretty far, motored around fast, and slid in at home.  It was pretty awesome!  Unfortunately, they lost a tough one--they were up heading into the final inning and just couldn't hold the lead or make a comeback.

Handsome kid!

Carter and I went to the Hilton Apple Fest on Sunday and he continued his quest to gain as much weight as possible (about 15 pounds at last count!) while he's feeling good--he had a steak sandwich before we picked up his actual lunch on the way home, plus we both had cider smoothies and bought a half dozen donuts for home.  

He really liked this $600 bear that one of the crafters was selling!

We also stopped at our usual pumpkin place to pick up some porch pumpkins.  It's not the fun pumpkin patch, but rather the cost-effective place that has a lot of fun varieties to decorate the porch (and big ones for carving are only $5!).  So at least that was done!

The only other exciting thing lately was Friday night being our test run for keeping my cousin Lori's dog, Honey, for a few days coming up.  They brought her over while they went out to dinner.  She was a little freaked out when they left, watching by the door and then constantly looking out the window.  We were trying to comfort and support her as much as we could.

I ended up taking her out for a walk as a distraction, although it only ended up being about halfway up the block, then back and down to the other corner.  I almost think she was purposely staying close, just in case they came back, but she still seemed to enjoy sniffing around.  I also got my first go-around with cleaning up poop, so there's that.  When we came back in the house, she settled in on the couch and eventually stopped looking out the window.  I hope that was comfort and not hopelessness!  I was sitting and petting her most of the time (I offered to have someone relieve me, I swear), but if I stopped, she'd paw me to do more.  Such a sweet girl.

She did well, but we'll see how things go when it's the real deal!  It'll definitely be an experience for all of us!  After all of Jacob's begging for a dog, I felt like he wasn't as involved with this experience as I expected.  Then he started saying something about only really wanting to help with his own dog.  Of course.  Hopefully I can get some participation next week!

Otherwise, just some fun pictures to share from the last week.  First, at Carter's practice I was trying to get in my steps (it's Walktober time again!) and I came across this little guy on the path.  He was a little creepy but also pretty cool.

Zoom in to see him looking at me.  He literally followed me with his head.

The sunset that night was so pretty.  We had super wispy clouds in one direction...

...and a stunning, glowy sky in the other.

The next day marked weird bug encounter #2, when we found this katydid on our house.  It was pretty big and a little too leaf-like for me!  I do not like bug camouflage!

Monday marked the last super warm day for a while, and I was determined to get out for a walk in it.  I had to stop for groceries on my way home, and with the early sunset time now, I essentially had to postpone dinner to get in a quick walk before dark.  The sky was already doing interesting things as I started, looking like it was on fire through the trees.

By the time I made it halfway around the block, it looked like this...

I kept walking, and when I got to another side street, I couldn't help but walk out to the main road in the hopes it would give me a more unobstructed view.

This was too enticing!  I had to try!

I think it worked.

That was one of the best sunsets I'd seen in a long time.  Just bright and stunning and so long-lasting.  Even better, when I turned the corner and the sunset was at my back, the Harvest Moon was in front of me.  It was so huge and bright!

I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable walk.  I'm a little sad about the warm weather ending, but I guess fall had to come sometime.  Leaves are a bit hit-or-miss currently, as we're in a historic drought and it's been generally warm on top of it, so lots of trees seem to be stressed and turning a bit brown or losing their leaves prematurely.  But then you see a lovely little pocket here and there, so maybe there's still hope.  I would love to get out on a hike this weekend, but between baseball and also needing to get to the pumpkin patch before some busy weekends ahead, that may not happen.  Why do I feel like fall is already slipping through my fingers, and we're barely a third of the way through October?!  Time warp, indeed.  Oh well, I'll do what I can to embrace it while it lasts!

An (Animal) Adventure

It's Oktoberfest time of year again, and my wanderlust is ratcheted back up.  A couple years ago I think the exhaustion from a busy year of traveling had me feeling content with not being there.  Last year my anxiety had me all messed up, and my car accident ruined whatever brain function I had left, so it probably wasn't as top of mind.  But this year I watch my webcams longingly, wishing I could be there taking in the sights.  My parents were just in Germany in August, which probably makes it a little stronger this year, knowing all they got to see.  It's so pretty, so exotic, so fun.  And probably all of the above has been in a bit of short supply lately.

So, it was nice to get away last weekend for a change of scenery.  After everything we've been going through with Carter's health and Jacob's schooling, the mental break felt important--never mind that the people on the other end were long overdue for a visit, as well.  I went to Binghamton to see Heather, and of course my godson, as well.  Mentally it felt like a bigger hurdle than I wanted it to be, because my last trip there resulted in a car accident and a very messy few weeks, even if the weekend itself ended up being pretty great otherwise.  It was a week shy of when it happened last year, and it's been weighing on me lately.  I think it's just the time of year and coming up to the anniversary, grateful for an uneventful-ish year with my new car but also being very aware how quickly things can change.  I'm once again grateful for my anxiety meds because they can mostly calm the irrational thoughts and worries, which was keeping the reminders mostly tolerable.  I can't say I haven't had a couple flashbacks when traffic stops suddenly or like a couple weeks ago when someone almost changed lanes into me, but it still felt like a weird mental block to overcome before this trip.  Luckily I was taking a different route this time, so it was easier to get past that.

I got a later start on Friday, mostly because I had put off packing and I had some work things to accomplish before I left.  I had started to come down with a cold (probably the one that Carter had that also took Jacob out for three days of his first full week at the new school) and I had been fighting it off as much as I could.  But I was still worried about passing it along, so it was going to be a last-minute decision.  Fortunately, by Thursday I was feeling much better--not 100%, and still not, actually--but far more in control of my symptoms so as not to actively sneeze or snot on anyone.  But I had held off packing just in case, which left me a lot of work on Friday morning.  I had to gather up three bags of hand-me-downs, a few toys I was passing along, and my whole suitcase.  I figured I'd be around long enough to eat an early lunch, then stop for gas and my travel Slurpee, and head out.  I had thought about making a stop en route, but 1) that didn't go well last time; and 2) in the end I decided I didn't really have enough time to justify the $25 fee at the most obvious stop, the Corning Museum of Glass.  But it does make for a perfect halfway point, so in the end I stopped to just go in the shop.  Pumpkins are now priced ridiculously (they were before but even a super tiny one is like $30), but I did find Carter's Christmas ornament for this year, so it was worth the stop.  And the pumpkins were really pretty!

I also had to take a minute with the Chihuly...

Fortunately, it was an uneventful drive and I arrived around 4:30.  Mason was so excited to see me!  Some kids are shy after not seeing someone for a year, but not him!  He got right to work showing me some toys and giving me a house tour (even though I got it last year!).  We played before dinner, ate, and then went out for ice cream down the road, which was so yummy!  After he went to bed, Heather and I (of course) stayed up chatting until late!

I slept in really well, actually, which was good since I did not sleep well last time--my sleep troubles had already started before that trip, but the accident obviously made them way worse, and it lasted for months.  But yay for my sleep meds and a good night's sleep this time!  Mason was ready to play when I emerged, and we ended up getting out the toys I brought with me.  I grabbed the toys that were part of the last toy purge but were too good to just give away on the Buy Nothing page--a big batch of Magic Tracks (the as-seen-on-TV bendy tracks with battery operated cars), Squigz (knobby rubber suction cup building toys), and the Pinterest-inspired felt Mr. Potato Head I made when I was unemployed.  It was in an old travel baby wipes case and had lots of parts inspired by the real toy.  I figured I might as well give it to him rather than just toss it, since my kids are clearly past that.  He quickly set out to play with all of the toys.  We set up magnetic tile tunnels for the Magic Tracks and he used the Squigz as signs and lights around the track.  When he started playing with the Mr. Potato Head, somehow it came up that we could make more parts for him with felt, and immediately he wanted to do that.  Well, of course, we were a bit limited on felt at the moment so that had to wait.  That was met with a bit of frustration, but we managed.

Heather had mentioned going to Animal Adventure Park, home of the late April the Giraffe of internet pregnancy fame, which we had gone to in the winter years ago when Mason was very little.  The Christmas displays were really pretty, but the cold weather and darkness made any animal viewing aside from the indoor giraffe barn a bit challenging.  I was excited at the prospect of going back, especially on a really nice day like it was (once the extremely thick fog burned off, anyway), but Mason was NOT having it.  He really just wanted to stay home and play with me.  That was sweet, obviously, but he was tending to get a bit bored or frustrated by some of what we were playing (like the magnetic tile tunnels collapsing or the cars not moving through the course as well as the batteries got weaker), so it felt like a change of scenery would be good.  We finally convinced him that it would be fun since we'd still be together, so off we went.

He played with Mr. Potato Head in the car...

First stop inside had to be the giraffes!  Heather bought a bucket to feed them, and it was so fun to be up on the deck, face-to-face with them.  Oliver in particular is super tall, so you could literally look him in the eye!

Those lashes!

Kimara was a little smaller, but equally lovely.

Watching Mason feed them was fun!

I mean, how cute are they up close like this?!

That face!!  Obsessed!

We went on to feed a pig and some goats...

...then we saw some alpacas, including a baby!

We saw some lazy lions and a macaw before coming to these monkeys.  This one looked so serious.  After the fact I thought he sort of resembled Wilford Brimley.

The horns on this goat were pretty impressive.

Ostriches are interesting.  I see emus every year at the pumpkin patch, but these guys just hit different.  Their feet are giant, and they're just so imposing...until you remember how small their brains are.

Their feathers were SO interesting, just so fluffy on top but oddly sparse underneath.

That was quite the stretch to groom!

This one kept trying to eat the fence.  I think I saw another one do that at another zoo, but I happened to catch this one perfectly!

The African Crowned Cranes were so odd.  I went to take a picture and they started freaking out on me.  And yes, I'm apologizing to them in the video!

I still got a good glamour shot, though!
 

We had to check Mason's wingspan.  Looks like he was a macaw.  I was closer to the crowned crane!

We saw some flamingos as Mason started to run up ahead.  As we were trying to call him back, he yelled, "They have capybaras!"  So, if you recall, I bought my stuffed capybara around my birthday.  He's a cozy kind of bolster pillow when I sleep on my side, and he's taken on a life of his own with Carter's hippo.  I ended up bringing him with me--maybe a combination of comfortable sleep, emotional support, and wanting to ensure the kids weren't posing him in weird pictures all weekend (it happens)--and Mason knew that.  So when he saw the capybaras, he was super excited...and so was I!  Of course, real ones aren't quite as happy and snuggly looking as mine, but it was fun to see them.  

Or at least, fun until one pooped where he was standing in the water, and it was sort of liquidy and just floated around him.  Yuck.  I'll spare you the photo.

Mason sent some food down a tube to the camels, and this one smiled nicely for me!

We saw some kangaroos lounging in the shade, and then we came across this wind tunnel machine.  Of course Mason wanted to do it.  He was all smiles and giggles the whole time it blew!

Highland cows are so funny.  I have no idea how this one could see his food!

We passed reindeer with giant racks, then flew by the black bears because Mason wanted to sit on the "bear chair".  First with Mommy...

...then with me!

The wolf was hiding under a shady tree, and there was an alligator, but he was pretty tiny.

We saw the water buffaloes, tigers, a sleepy snow leopard, and binturongs, also known as bearcats (which are now the mascot at SUNY Binghamton).  Mason really wanted to see the otters because he saw one at an aquarium over the summer and got a stuffed one, but they seemed to be hiding.  Luckily they came out of hiding for a bit.  They didn't swim, but they climbed a bit.  We also saw sleepy sloths.

One of my favorite animals of the day were these tiny monkeys, squirrel monkeys, I think.  They were super playful, and I even caught this one sneaking a snack.

The aviary had the most lovely birds.  The colors were so beautiful and vibrant!

We wandered back to the front, past a sleeping parrot and back through the donkeys, alpacas, goats, and pigs, in order to finish off the feed pellets and carrots we had left.  Mason really wanted to pan for gems (seems familiar...), so we wandered into the store to buy his bag of dirt.  There we saw an axolotl, another animal we had been talking about over the weekend.  

I also saw this shirt, which cracked me up.

I bought Mason's bag of dirt and we walked back out to the panning area.  I taught him how to do it, and he very much enjoyed rinsing them off.

We did pretty good for the smallest bag!

Before we headed out we went back to the giraffes for a few more minutes.  Oliver was back in the barn, but Kimara was still out.  She's really cute.  Apparently she has expressive ears!

I could have watched them all day!  But alas, it was getting to be closing time so we headed out.  We headed back to the house, had dinner, and started on the evening activity, making more accessories for Mr. Potato Head!  Heather's mom had gone out and picked up some felt at the craft store while we were gone, so we made a list of pieces we wanted and I started creating them.  It was actually pretty fun, although my craft skills are suspect!  We got through most of them before bedtime.  While I was there I read him bedtime books, which was a nice throwback.  We had another late night of talking, and then it was off to bed.

Sunday morning we headed out to church.  They're going to a new one now.  They had some issues at the one they've gone to since Heather moved to Binghamton and started working at their school, so they switched to one that is actually closer to their house and has a Sunday School setup (albeit a small one) for Mason.  It's a small church, but the building is relatively new (due to a fire 10 years ago) and everyone seemed very nice.  I even got to meet Heather's college roommate after all these years.  They ended up estranged for a number of years (long story), so I never got to meet her at the wedding or anything like that.  But they've reconnected, and thank goodness since they definitely couldn't miss each other in such a small church!  Her son seems to play well with Mason, and her younger daughter turned 13 that day, complete with a "13" tiara!

After church, Mason had to show me the play room, and he built this lovely building in my honor.  The sun design around the bottom was all him!  The balloon was from the 13th birthday party prep in the fellowship hall.  We definitely played a bunch of "keepy uppy" for the rest of the day!

We headed home for a late lunch and of course had to turn on the Bills game!  Mason's a big fan and had to bring out all of his Bills Little People!  The beginning of the game was iffy, but thankfully they made a solid comeback and won pretty handily.  After that, it was time to get on the road.  It was a bit of a sad goodbye, but it had been a very fun trip.  The drive home was pleasant--it stayed light for the whole thing, or would have if the family didn't hijack my drive to have me bring home food for dinner from new favorite, Chick Magnet, which was pretty much on my way.  I also had to stop at Kohl's because I had a pick-up order that was 15 minutes away from getting canceled!  It had been a long but good day.

Overall, it was a great trip!  Mason is amazing--so smart and very busy!  He still surprises me with all of the things he knows and remembers and can put together in his mind.  It definitely takes a unique brand of energy to keep up with him!  I realized on this trip that now that he's only a month shy of five, he's nearly the age I was (just a week past my fifth birthday) when Heather and I met.  It's pretty amazing to think about being that young, meeting someone, and being here 42 years later still friends.  It's rare and precious, for sure.  Hopefully this time it won't be another year before I see Mason again (Heather and I at least saw each other in May), as it sounds like maybe they'll head our way for a Strong Museum visit, especially now that there's a dollhouse exhibit open through early January.  Not sure how much I've mentioned this, but Heather's dad built dollhouses, so they were a big part of our childhood together.  So, we'll see.  But we'll call this a successful trip!

It was a bit of a crazy week to come back to--hence why this post is so belated--with lots of appointments for Jacob and a ton of work stuff.  I'll do a catch-up post soon, I hope!