Day at the Farm

After being up three hours straight with Bo last night, and then an hour with Violet, I didn't get as much home improvement work accomplished as I'd hoped. Instead, I cleaned up the backyard of toys and lawn chairs, I rehung the mailbox (which I fixed yesterday by gluing on the "8" from our address that had fallen off) and threw a few more things into the back of the pickup truck for the dump. Then I washed two loads of laundry and carried Bo's puke-covered sheets to the basement where I washed them tonight. He was coughing so badly last night that he gagged himself and puked all over his comforter and blanket.

If I had a dollar for every puke-covered blanket we've washed this fall I would be a wealthy woman...

Anyway, after washing some dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, I decided to spend the rest of the day at the farm with my mom. I said anyone who wanted to join me was welcome to come. Bo and Violet took me up on the offer. Mazy and Shawn stayed home to watch the Green Bay Packer game and repaint the trim and quarter round in the kitchen. Incidentally, it looks fabulous!!!

I didn't get the front steps painted but it's going to get done this week! It looks like one of us will be home with Bo each day because he's just not giving over this Strep throat. I'm hoping to get him into the doctor again tomorrow to make sure it isn't getting worse.

Bo, Violet and I had a lovely day at the farm. Mom made us meatloaf, oven fries and corn for lunch. Dad was there for awhile before he went back out to the field. It was a nice day just to hang around and chat and drink coffee. On our way back to Des Moines, I stopped at Grandma Maxine and Grandpa Pud's house to deliver leftovers from lunch and to chat with them for an hour. Bo was quite tired by that time but still behaved pretty well. Violet was charming, of course. Grandpa Pud is quite taken with her red hair and big cheeky smile. I'm glad we were able to visit them.

And that was Sunday. If I'm home tomorrow, I'll continue to work on our projects. I need a power-washer before I can paint the front steps so I'm hoping Shawn can borrow one from work. It would also be nice to wash some of the siding that's dirty. And I am dying to get to my sister's house and see it!!! If I end up staying home with Bo maybe I'll just take a vacation day one of the days and go spend it with Heidi and the kids. It gets to be a drag for everyone involved when I'm "working" from home. It's doable, but I've done it a lot lately and some days it's just nice to be home and not juggling work emails and phone calls and my laptop.

Happy Thanksgiving week, everyone! What are you making for the big day? I'm still deciding on a side dish and dessert to take to Shawn's family Thanksgiving dinner. If you have any great suggestions, let me know! I typically take a roasted or steamed veggie -- something on the lighter side than many Thanksgiving sides.