Congrats!

Congratulations to Patrick and Emily! They got engaged last weekend. We're excited to welcome her and her two beautiful boys to the family. My kids already adore them.


And below: a tiny photo I stole from facebook.

Last Week: Sucky and Lucky

Last week was both sucky and lucky. Sucky because Boston had these little clusters of skin-colored bumps on his leg. Some friends' kids had similar bouts with this rash called moluscum. Apparently, my pediatrician said I could just let them clear up or take him to a dermatologist to have a simple procedure done. After our California trip they seemed to have spread a bit, so I made an appointment. The doctor treats these bumps a couple times a month. All she was to do was put some ointment (literally beetlejuice) on each one and cover each with a small piece of tape. She instructed me to leave it on about 3 hours and then shower him off. The ointment would make the spots blister, mesaaging his body to attack the virus. I put him in the tub after about 2 hours but soon discovered that the tape was stuck like glue to each emerging blister. His leg was so tender that I decided not to send him to school. I tried repeatedly to get the tape off but Boston cried in pain. With a few calls back and forth to the doctor I realized I just had to get all the pieces of tape off. I held him down and began to pick. It's really hard to have to hurt your kid and the whole time I kept thinking how unnecessary this all was and how the doctor may have not given me the right instructions.

Long story short, poor Boston was writhing in pain the whole night as he basically got chemical burns and I had been forced to peel off parts of his skin that would not relinquish the tape. The verdict was that his body reacted too quickly to the ointment and was perhaps more sensitive than other kids' skin. 3 missed days of school and a loooong, ouchie weekend are finally behind us, though his legs may scar.


The week was lucky, though, because I got to see my long-time friend, Daniel. We've known each other since I was 15. He enlisted in the army when I was 16 (thought it was the end of the world!) but has made it his career and will be a lifer. He had some business to do in Colorado so he stopped in. We stayed up late chatting and catching up on old times. He is so magnetic. He tells things as he sees them and has an infectious smile. He is hilarious and easy to love. My kids gravitated to him immediately (he says it's because he looks like Mickey Mouse). Anyway, I called to check on him during his long drive home and we got to talking about how we both would like to eventually write books. He said he thought I'd finish first. "Oh yeah, why?" I asked, having a feeling I knew what was coming. "Because you have more time on your hands." What the?! I remained calm and asked him how many hours he'd be working at his new job. 40 (as I had suspected. Hmmm.). "So what will you be doing after work?" He told me he'd probably be vegging on the couch from exhaustion.
"Well my job never ends, Daniel." And that night we all stayed up chatting? Yeah, you slept solid til 10 a.m. I slept 3 hours, you little stinker. Knowing (as any good man does) that he was digging himself a hole, he added a most deliciously dangerous comment. "Come on, Chelsea. I've seen your kids. They're angels. And I know a lot of women who do what you do AND work a full-time job."
The end. Feel free to comment because this post is already long.