Buzzed

Matt was out doing yardwork yesterday, and accidentally ran afoul of a huge wasp nest. He got stung a bunch of times, and spent the rest of the day all red, swollen, and itchy. I tried to persuade him to let me take a picture, but he understandably wasn't too interested in being photographed. Suffice it to say, his face puffed all up to the point that he looked like Rocky Dennis.

After spending the majority of Sunday afternoon in a Benedryl-induced haze, he seems to have pretty much recovered. He's home from  work today, and has begun work on his revenge: Operation Wasp Apocalypse. I tried to take a covert picture of his wasp extermination getup, but was once again rebuffed. Allow me to describe:

Hiking boots ...check!

Jeans tucked into hiking boots ...check!

Giant wool socks pulled up to his shins ...check!

Long sleeve shirt with pegged sleeves ...check!

Thick gloves ...check!

Nerdy goggles ...check!

Ski mask ...check!

Thoughts of murder and revenge ... check!

Happy birthday Frankie

Frankie's sixth birthday was today, and we had a lot of fun. Frankie's pre-birthday wish was to sleep in the Big Bed with me, so she could wake up next to me on her birthday morning. How could I resist that? I tucked her in our bed. Then when she was asleep, I decorated the living with balloons and birthday banners, and Matt installed an awesome swing chair that hangs from the ceiling in her bedroom.

Frankie was very excited for her birthday. In the middle of the night, she woke up twice. The first time was at 3am when she woke me up to tell me that it was her birthday. The second time was at 4am when she woke me up to tell me "I CAN'T STOP SMILING!!!"

When it was finally morning, she was thrilled to see all the decorations and the new swing in her room. We opened a few presents, and then it was time to catch the bus to school. She had a great day at school, and Frankie's teacher did all kinds of special activities for her: a birthday crown, a birthday song, Frankie got to choose the activity at afternoon recess, and so forth. When Frankie got home, she told me it was THE BEST DAY EVER.

After a quick after-school snack, it was time for her party at Chuck E Cheese. Five out of six of her guests showed up, and the kids spent the whole time running around, playing games, and just generally bouncing off the walls. Uncle Mark was there (Yay!), as was Matt and the parents of the kids Frankie invited to the party. We had pizza, cake, and ice cream. Chuck E Cheese himself made an appearance at the party, and Frankie also got to take a turn in the "ticket blaster" booth. (It's kind of like a phone booth with a big fan at the bottom that blows prize tickets round and round while the kid trapped inside the booth tries to catch them.)

The sixth guest that didn't show up, sadly, was Frankie's old friend Brookie. Frankie and Brookie were best friends two years ago before we left for England, and she hasn't seen Brookie since. Frankie told me that the only present she wanted for her brithday was to have Brookie come to her birthday party, and I tried so hard to make it work out. I tracked down Brookie's mom through the school Brookie and Frankie used to go to. I called Brookie's mom, left messages, and played a near-endless game of phone tag with her. When I eventually got a hold of her via text messaging, she said that she and Brookie would definitely be at the party... But, alas, they never showed up and never called to cancel. Frankie was really heartbroken. Seeing Brookie was the #1 thing she was excited about today, and it's all she talked about all afternoon. It broke my heart to see her get stood up like that. It's especially hard because I know that I can never call Brookie's mom again. It's too hard to get a hold of her, and it makes me feel like a weird stalker. (Plus, now I'm mad at her.)

Despite the Brookie drama, Frankie had a really good time at her party, and it was great to see her having a ball with the other kids. Me? I'm pretty pooped! Think I'll have a piece of cake and crawl into bed.

First day of first grade

Mom and I walked Frankie to the bus stop this morning and watched her climb on the big yellow bus for the first time. She was really nervous as she walked up the stairs to her seat, but she put on a brave face and hopped right in. I was a very proud mama.

Exciting Visitor!!

My mom is coming to visit today! Yay!! I'm too busy cleaning the house right now to compose a proper post, but I just wanted to go on record saying that we're all *super* excited.

Back to the beach

Saturday, we're jetting off to Edisto Island for a family vacation. I'm so excited! I can't believe it's been almost ten years since I was last in South Carolina. I hope the Island is as beautiful and relaxing as I remember. I'm really looking forward to lounging in the sun, collecting shells, swimming, and building sandcastles. I'll be sure to take tons of pictures.

Our busy weekend

It was a fun & busy weekend at the Myers/Cole house. On Friday night, Matt got back from his trip to Japan. It's so nice to have him home. The only bummer is that all of his trip pictures are super boring... Just hotels and train stations. I think that other than conference rooms, that's pretty much all he saw of the country. It looks like his company might be getting some work there, though, so I'm sure he'll be back. Maybe next time he'll take me with him? I'd really love a chance to see Japan, even though he'd probably be so busy that I'd essentially be living out the plot of Lost in Translation. Minus the affair with Bill Murray, of course. Unless I actually run into Bill over there. Then all bets are off. (Kidding, Matt!)

On Saturday, we had some fun family time at Matt's company picnic. It was 100 degrees outside, and brutally hot at the park where the picnic was being held. The playground equipment was virtually unsuable, as the sun had turned all of the surfaces into hibachi grills. The park itself was beautiful, though, and there were tons of other fun things to do. We were all situated inside a huge, shady bandshell type building, so it was easier to stay cool. There was a little water play area right outside our building, and Frankie had a blast running through the sprinklers and fountains. The park also had a gigantic sandbox inside the covered area, so when she got tired of the heat she had a nice shady place to play. Matt's company had also organized some kid's activities for the day, and the face painting was especially a hit. (Frankie got her face painted like an owl.)

On Sunday, we had a really productive house-project day. We woke up early and went to the garden center to buy a bunch of bushes for the perimeter of our yard. When we got home, we worked hard clearing out all of the weeds and general awfulness that's been there since we moved in. It was so hot that we had to attach a mister to the hose to keep us cool as we worked. It was really productive, though. We managed to change this:

To this:

And this:

We still have about six juniper bushes to plant, because the heat eventually got to us and we had to pack it in for the day. But still, great progress.

After hanging out in the a/c for awhile, Matt and Frankie went back outside to assemble our new patio swing. Verdict: I love it! It makes the space so much more shady and comfortable. In fact, I'm thinking of bringing a cup of coffee out there as soon as I post this...

When Frankie was in the bathtub Sunday night, we got quite a surprise:

She lost her front tooth!

It wiggled and waggled and twisted until it was eventually pointing straight out like a Narwhal tusk. Then... pop! It was gone. She was thrilled, and wrote a cute little note for the tooth fairy that night. I'm excited for her, but I'm not quite sure I was ready for that front tooth to come out. I didn't have a chance to say a proper goodbye to her old baby smile. Now, she's such a big girl... Guess I have to face it: She's definitely growing up. The new smile is adorable, though. She looks like a mini hockey player. Or a roller derby girl.



Chicago Trip Pictures