Neglect

Now that I’ve sold like 40 books, I’ve clearly forgotten the little people over here at the blog! The bright lights of twenty-four hours of fame have blinded me, and I’m here to repent.

I apologize for being a miserable poster of late. I took the boys to Wisconsin for almost two weeks and barely touched my computer, and then as soon as I returned home I got a cold and pink eye in both eyes, so I decided to keep my laptop a germ-free zone until it no longer hurt to look at things. The crust has subsided, and though I took pictures, I won’t share them. That’s how much I love you.

I’ve gotten lots of good feedback via text and Facebook on the book, but only a handful of reviews on Amazon. As avid readers know, a long list of reviews helps buyers decide which books to read, so I really need you folks to stop by Amazon and leave your thoughts. Several family members left lovely reviews that were subsequently deleted by the Amazon gods, because apparently my family can’t leave unbiased feedback since they know firsthand how amazing I am already. If your last name is Tevebaugh or I’ve ever sent a package from Amazon to your house, you might have trouble, but everyone else should be A-okay!

I was so careful not to spread my lizard eye germs around the house, but alas Archer has caught my cold. Hopefully he won’t get conjunctivitis, because I just found out it’s incredibly painful. It’s a miracle I haven’t had it before now, since Jackson’s favorite game is Poke Eye (not my favorite), but this is my first full blown pink eye episode as a parent. I started to get a symptom or two while we were at my cousin’s house a few months ago, and since she was a pro and had it several times, she threw drops at me and told me not to touch anything. I immediately felt better, and started to think the people who complain about pink eye were less strong than I.

But then I woke up in the middle of the night and thought I was blind, scraped slime and crust from my face, and went to urgent care. The pharmacy had some technical difficulties when I stopped by for my drops, so I decided to go home, have lunch, and try later. In a matter of hours my eyes were swollen and bruised, flaming red, and I had so much gunk I had to hold tissues up to my face to staunch the flow. I gathered all the linens I’d touched and threw them in the washing machine on the “sterilize” setting and headed to the pharmacy. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to see to drive by the time they called to tell my the drops were ready, and one look at my nightmare ooze-balls had them rushing to fill my script.

This is good advice for any emergency: if you need pain pills for a recent wound, walk up to the counter with the wound exposed, and suddenly you’re first in line to get your meds! My apologies to the gentleman waiting for his Lipitor, but it was urgent.

Apart from my contagious parting gift, we had a wonderful time in Wisconsin with my parents. Jackson has been telling me things he learned while he was there since we got on the plane to return home, starting with, “You know, Nana and Baba really love the Packers!” A couple days were chilly and rainy, but my parents were prepared, so the boys played with the train set purchased especially for their visits, as well as PlayDoh and coloring books. We even went to a restaurant where our food was delivered on a model train! It has an arcade attached to it, and the boys were thrilled.

Archer still hates anything new, especially textures, so our trip to the little man-made beach was a bit of a disaster. Jackson had a fantastic time “swimming” with his floaties and begging to move into deeper water, but Archer whined whenever sand touched him. He enjoyed having his toes gently dipped in the water while being held, but that’s about it. Jackson could barely stand he was so tired from constantly treading water, and he had to be carried to bed. A definite sign of  good day!

I’m so glad the kids have these experiences with my family in Wisconsin, especially now, when they live somewhere so different from the lush farmland of the Midwest. Jackson was quick to point out how green everything was, and though we have some forced greenery in El Paso, it’s always a faded, clinging-to-life green, rather than spongy soil producing soy beans and corn. Jackson even agreed to try corn on the cob after seeing fields of the stuff on the side of the road. It wasn’t his favorite, but connecting him with the source seemed to help the process. Also, the kid loves cheese, so he ate pretty well on this trip. Fried cheese curds were also very popular.

Flying with the kids by myself was a bit of a nightmare, so if we’re invited back next year I’ll have to start mentally preparing now. I’m not positive the invitation is coming though, because one kid peed on the carpet and the other got pasta sauce on the couch. Just more signs of a good day, right?