He's sick again...

Weston is home sick today with something. I don't think it's the flu. He has a 100.7 temp, down from 103 on Sunday. I'll post when I know what's bothering him and when I have pictures from the weekend.

Post Script: He has a double ear infection which is particularly nasty on the left side, as well as a sinus infection. All of which were caused by a cold that got out of hand. Nothing we could do, according to Dr. Gavin. He's on antibiotics, and his fever is down to 99. Dr. Gavin wants to see him again tomorrow for a recheck and to give him the H1N1 flu vaccination. I'm still a little weirded out by this vaccine, but his doctor feels it's necessary. He's also getting in at least 1 molar tooth!

I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!

So, I was driving behind a 1990s Dodge Stratus this morning on my way to work and it reminded me of the best SNL clip ever. Saturday Night Live (in the 1990s - 2002) was a staple of family time with my brother, sister, and myself. I texted each of them this morning and what did I get back? "I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!" Instant smile and happiness on a Thursday morning... in case you're confused:

GO HAWKS & RIVER KINGS!!!

The University of Iowa Football Team is 9-0! How Awesome is that?
And now they will be gracing the cover of next month's central region Sports Illustrated!

And my alma mater, Clinton High School, is still currently undefeated!!! They beat Cedar Falls last in a pretty simple game. Next game is in Clinton on Friday. I wish I could go, but it's Scott's mother's 80th Birthday, so I'll be baking a cake and working on that all week. But it also means that we can't go home... damn. But, if this team makes it all the way to the UNI Dome, we are going! That's what vacation is for. So excited!!!

Post Script: It was a sad weekend for football in our house. Clinton High lost Friday night. It ended our season... no UNI Dome, no road trip to State for the Joneses. :( And then Iowa was massacred after our QB, Ricky Stanzi was injured in the 1st Quarter. The poor replacement QB hadn't played enough during the season, so he was unprepared to do what it takes to pull a win out of a hat for the Hawkeyes. It was sad to watch. And even though I am not an Iowa State fan, I do like to see them win when playing anyone but Iowa. And they lost too. A very sad weekend for Iowa at large. :(

Weston's Trick or Treating

Beggar's Night in the Des Moines Metro was Friday, October 30th from 6-8 pm. We had planned on taking Weston around the neighborhood and letting him stretch his legs. But the weather was so horrible, it was cold and rainy and miserable. So, Weston's Entourage (his parents, Aunt Shannon and Urban Family Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jason) all loaded up the cars and headed to Merle Hay Mall. The Mall was the closest and supposedly were distributing candy until 8 pm. Jason took these pictures.
Dragon Weston chillin'in line... there was a massive line of children along with their extremely Rude, line-cutting parents who just butted in anywhere they wanted.

Dragon Weston receiving his very first piece of candy from a beautiful Vampire at Brodkey's Jewelry. He only got 5 Tootsie Rolls for all of his walking and efforts. It was very sad.

The whole family went along. This "in action" photo showing the stress of the line. :)

Dragon Weston was plowed down by a 3 yr old channelling a Freight Train. He hit his head pretty hard on the floor, so we took off the very warm body of the dragon and left our little guy with the feet. He was ok, but enjoyed the attention of being carried by his Aunt Shannon who helped him out with the costume.

This fun, but I think next year we'll brave the rain and go old school through the neighborhood.

the creation of Mother Nature

So... it's Halloween again at the Onthank Company.

This year I'm appearing as Mother Nature!!!

Here's my details:

Dress: made from the Gray Lady pattern in this season's Martha Stewart Living Halloween issue. She didn't say it would be see-through! Whore! So I had to MacGuyver a dress this week.

I have leaves and butterflies on the dress, and butterflies and glittery fall foliage in my hair. And a bird on my left shoulder. I feel frumpy, but still pretty.

Makeup isn't showing well on pictures. It's all golds and glittery. I used green and bronze eyeliners to draw to design on my face.

This is my right-ish profile. You can sort of see the design on my right side. and the tulle dress in detail, along with the hair. I am wearing tea-stained fishnet tights as sleeves, they look non-existent in pictures. Should have stained longer.

From the left... like the butterflies and the bird?

Full length with my friend Dorothy, I mean Jean. She's just too cute!
And the next best thing to Costumes... POTLUCK DAY!!! I made a Halloween Dirt Cake!

POST SCRIPT: I WON 1st Place!!!!! And it was a hard run this year. But finally, I have returned to the top! Woo-hoo!!! I'm just a bit excited! I mean, I won in 2006 (my first year) as the "Proper Young Lady" with books on my head, lost in 2007 to a man dressed as a slutty woman and a store bought Geisha (I was a Gold Digger, complete with a gold coin covered shovel), and Scott's step-dad passed away in 2008, so my Domestic Goddess Costume sat in the closet. This is my bragging rights for the next year. I am thrilled.

5 years down the road...

It occurred to me that my last post may be taken the wrong way.

I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, especially Scott's. He does so much around the house, more than any other husband (in my age group) I know.
I am just so frustrated with how "out of control" my life feels right now. Like there is nothing that can be done to change the situation, no matter how hard we try.

Scott and I are celebrating our 5th Wedding Anniversary today. I always hear that years 7-10 are the most difficult. I think year 4 was pretty tough. And to be honest, year 5 looks like it might be harder than year 4. But I have a feeling that we will pull through. Not because we have to, but because we want to. Scott and I are at our best, especially to each other, when we are alone, or with Weston. It's just so much easier when it's just us. :)

He's one of the few people I can be completely honest with, or completely silent with. And he makes me laugh. And when I'm with him, I always feel pretty. He makes me feel pretty. And he is one of the Best Dads I've ever seen - If we could afford it, and my body would cooperate, I'd have many more children just to see him be a dad.

And because I know he reads my blog...

Love you, Husband.

Happy Anniversary!

Options and Worries

We're weighing a lot of options lately.
What to wear, what to eat, where to live?
It seems like I am always having to make some sort of choice. What will we have for dinner tonight? Can I possibly defrost and eat by 6:30pm? (Weston has to start eating by 6:30 on weeknights, or he thinks that you are going to starve him. He's been like this since he was pretending to breastfeed.)
I am tired. I am exhausted from having to make choices every single day. I wish I someone could take my decision making for while. I wish someone would shoulder the responsibility of my family and my life for a bit.
Think about it... wouldn't it be nice if you could wake up in the morning and your closet just spits out an outfit to wear? You'd take one look at it and be like, ok, so I'm wearing that. Hmmm, I'll pull my hair up and wear the purple and gray eyeshadows with the pearl chain necklace and hoop earrings. It's nice weather so I'll step it up with the heels. Done.
You pick up the kid from daycare, get home and your freezer has thrown some chicken and frozen carrots on the counter. The pantry contributed some wild rice and seasonings. The cabinets set out the baking sheet, so roasted chicken. Ok, dinner's done.
My life is in chaos. Plain and simple. And I'm tired of deciding who does what. Which bills get paid, what we'll do about the house, what's for dinner, who feeds Weston and what he eats for every meal.
Some days, I think feminism was the greatest waste. I'm not sure what women gained from it. Except more work and more worries. Not only are we responsible for our careers (if they can be called that,) be we are also responsible for our families and homes. I'm lucky. I have a husband that helps. But he can't or won't make a decision. Sometimes I wonder how he lived before me, but that was a lifetime ago. He had a great job that he loved (and it paid $5,000 more a year than he's making now) and he only worried about minor things like paying the rent, electric bill, cable and his season hockey tickets. He didn't even have long distance or a cell phone then. He lived that way for almost 8 years. It's no wonder that I hold the responsibility for our family.
I'm sorry if this seems like a rant or a whine. I'm just so tired. Tired of holding everything in, and tired of carrying our world on my shoulders. I wish someone would take care of me for while. This morning Star 102.5 was discussing the flu (again) and I drove to work wondering how I would handle being sick. How could I take care of Weston after daycare if I was too sick to work? Who would help me? Scott has to work. Shannon has to work. I'd have no one. And then he'd probably catch it from me, so then I would be out of work longer. (Yeah, I worry about this kind of stuff all the time. You should be in my head while I am trying to fall asleep. Last night I was thinking about asking my boss something about this weekend's Hawkeye game, and I ended up dreaming about him! Eew... I can't even leave people when I go to sleep.) Do you think I'm losing it?