The Greeks

My birthday falls over the Thanksgiving holiday. As is my family tradition, we took a break from the turkey and celebrated with greasy cheeseburgers, stromboli, french fries, milk shakes, banana splits, and hot fudge chocolate sundaes at The Greeks, which is a family run candy store near my parents' hometown. When my mother and her sisters were little, my grandfather would take them "to town" to buy Christmas gifts for my grandmother for Christmas. After shopping, they would eat and buy candy at The Greeks. It became a tradition. My generation of siblings and cousins grew up going to The Greeks when we were home for the holidays. Now my generation brings our children to sit at the little table and see the Santa Claus train.

November is a popular birthday month in my family, so it has become a family custom to have a birthday party complete with party hats at The Greeks over the Thanksgiving weekend. I have even received the birthday honor of making candy with the shop's owner Lou. We leave with full bellies and boxes of bourbon balls and caramel turtles. In trying to describe it, I realize that there is really nothing fancy about The Greeks, but in my mind, it shines with all the glitter of family, special traditions, and shared memories.

Pax trying to catch a glimpse of Santa

Mason found his way behind the candy counter...twice. Don't tell Lou!

Smile, it's my birthday!

Waiting for the train...

Our little guys at the little table

Over the River and Through the Woods...

Monday November 23, Pax has a fever virus.

Tuesday November 24... still has a fever.

Tuesday evening, Pax still has a 102 fever... No Thanksgiving meal with the Campbells tonight. We are considering staying home from the Thanksgiving tour. In the words of my wise husband, "Why would we take a 2 year old with a 102+ fever in the car for 8 hours?"

Wednesday morning, November 25... fever free-- woo hoo! We frantically pack our bags, grab some breakfast, and hit the road. Illinois here we come!

Pax did great the rest of the trip and we were so glad to spend a bit of time with our extended families.

All is Calm.... All is Bright

Just realized it's been exactly one month since my last post... apparently the most wonderful time of the year has kept me busier than I was giving it credit... Rest assured, we're here and we have lots of catching up to do!

New pictures

Sometimes Pax is so cute it hurts...

A Good Date

There are very busy seasons of our family life and for some reason, we are in one of those right now. Travis has had retreats, trips, out of town meetings, events, the swine flu episode, and conferences the last several weeks/weekends, which has led to a lot of one on one time with Paxon. This helps me be even more grateful that I enjoy the majority of the time I spend with him. He is such an interesting little person and I am enjoying getting to know him every day. He has been very good company in Travis's absence lately. In fact, sometimes I am surprised how much they are alike. Nature or nurture, I wonder.

Paxon has had an excellent day. We ran errands this morning and for a treat, I told him we could have a lunch date at a restaurant. He chose the "Mexican food store." He had good behavior at the restaurant, he ordered from the waiter, and even used good manners. He gave me a big hug as we were leaving and I told him he was a good date. Clearly, this was not a familiar term. When he asked me what a "date" was, I fumbled the best answer I could on the spot (this is becoming my challenge in parenting): "A date is when you go to a restaurant or somewhere fun with someone you like...if you have a good time, then you give them a big hug when you're done... and when you get home, sometimes you snuggle."

When Pigs Fly

At the beginning of this week, Travis was diagnosed with the swine flu. Since neither Pax nor I had been innoculated at that point and because both of us are considered higher risk for complications from the flu, we were strongly advised by all of our doctors (PCP, OB, and pediatrician) to move out of our home for the week, leaving Travis to fend for himself. Lovely. This is another time when I am grateful that we live near our families. So, much to Paxon's delight, we spend the week at GiGi's and G-Daddy's. Truly, it was to my delight as well. I am thankful to have family that I enjoy so much.

Thanks to Tamiflu, Advil, and some TLC from a few friends who have already had the swine flu, Travis seems to be on the mend.

Note to self: When pandemic flu breaks out next year, do not wait to get vaccinated. Hand sanitizer is not enough.

Big Brother

So we were in the grocery store last week when, out of the blue, Paxon announced in a loud, clear voice, "MOMMY HAVE BABY IN MOMMY BELLY!" This is why you refrain from telling your two-year-old that he will be a big brother before the rest of the world knows, but really, how can you reign in that excitement?

Looks like Round Two starts for us in May.