Sickness has struck in our home again. Little Lion has been battling a high fever since yesterday, and refuses to take any form of medication for it. I hate to force him to take the syringe, and he has a very effective method of spitting it out. Even the little chewables were rejected. This boy has some sixth sense for medication detection, because if I slip it into a drink or yogurt, he refuses to eat or drink anymore, when previously he was enjoying it.
Very frustrating, and a little scary for me, since it’s been so high for so long. But the fever started to go down tonight, so hopefully that’s the end of it. No one slept well last night, least of all me, for worrying and also being uncomfortable sleeping next to the human heater that my son had turned into.
I last left you to go work on a little sewing project- making a cotton slip for the wedding over the weekend. It took me most of the next day to actually sew it, with Little Lion climbing all over me. I was increasingly frustrated as I completed the project, feeling completely constricted and confined whenever I sat, and also having trouble focusing on it with my son climbing (literally climbing) all over me.
In hindsight, I think I sewed my seams too large and should have taken them out and started again, but I did not do that. Instead, I tried various ways of modifying it, including putting a slit in the back, which yes, ripped all the way up on the day of use. I also, in hindsight, should have just worn a different dress and spared myself the frustration and instead put my energies into packing so we could leave early and arrive at the wedding on time. I also became so overstimulated and frustrated that I ended up yelling at Little Lion to stop climbing on me. I felt horrible about it. These are the kinds of things that make me feel like hiding under the covers, and pitying my boy for having such a short-tempered mother.
Therein lies the problem I have with sewing- it brings out my worst qualities. It makes me hot, sweaty, and short-tempered. I don’t want to be that way around the people I love the most. So, I’ve sworn off sewing, unless it’s a small, basic project or mending by hand. I’ll just find a tailor of reasonable price and have her do the heavy lifting, and stick to more pleasant activities, like crocheting.
The wedding was beautiful, but we were, predictably, quite late. Snow had been plowed into some parking spots, and all the rest were full, so we weren’t able to find parking. My husband ended up dropping us off and missed pretty much everything. Which is too bad, because the part of the sermon I did catch would have been very informative for him. Oh well, next time. I bribed Little Lion to be still with my photo gallery on my iPhone, and enjoyed the absolutely stunning sanctuary. It must have been three stories tall, with gorgeously draped cathedral windows on each side and a large Grecian door in front that gave me the feeling that it would open straight to Heaven.
The reception hall was so packed that it was standing room only by the time we got down there. Little Lion was running around through the crowd, and it was a bit overwhelming for us. When he asked to nurse, it was a welcome excuse to slip away somewhere quieter.
The Mom’s room was decked out with some very interesting toys (which kept Little Lion busy for almost an hour), cozy gliders, and best of all, silence. I guess I’ve become a bit of an introvert over the years. The room itself was a comforting almost-sage green, and just had that open-air, sunny aesthetic that only an old building can offer.
There were a few other moms there, and we all had a lovely time chatting. The only adult I usually talk to is my husband, Honey Badger. It’s nice to talk to other women and just to reassure and be reassured that everything is ok, the challenging things will pass, and the beautiful, wonderful parts really are beautiful and wonderful. Babies have a way of opening people up to conversation, when you might otherwise not know what to talk about
We did end up rejoining the party, right around the time the dancing commenced. Little Lion ate it up! We danced for quite a while, and he was sad to go. I also had the chance to catch up with an old friend from college, who was one of the bridesmaids. She’s a beautiful woman, both in character, and in looks. I was really happy to see her after all these years.
We had a lovely drive down, and some old college friends and I got together on a video call, which was a great way to pass the hours. Rather than force ourselves to drive back home, we stayed overnight in Kansas City, I suppose we could have gone back, and Little Lion would have slept on the way, but he probably would have been wired by the time we got home and we’d have been up all night. Instead, we had a cozy, early evening in our two-bedroom hotel. It was delightful to have two rooms, even if they didn’t have doors. Definitely an upgrade from our current situation, where we’ve converted our walk-in closet to a murphy bed style bedroom.
On Sunday, we gallivanted around my favourite city. Honey Badger picked the breakfast restaurant, a beautiful farmhouse chic place called Homegrown. We had passed by the night before and I mentioned wanting to go. I guess he didn’t actually hear that, but somehow, we still ended up there. It was really nice, the food was delicious, and we had a lovely server.
After that, we visited some cute boutique shops and then spent some time visiting the Nelson-Atkinson Museum for what is at least my fourth or fifth time. It was a little touch and go having a two-year-old at the art museum (we passed a sculpture with a sign that said “platform is alarmed”, to which I replied “I am too!”), but once I got him out back into the sculpture field, he was golden. Despite there being a thick layer of snow, the weather was pleasantly warm and only required a sweater.
I devoured the beautiful old architecture (why can’t they make beautiful buildings anymore?). We drove around and stopped at my husband’s favourite store, Tommy Hilfiger, before finally turning north to go home. It is not snowy here, but it is bitterly cold and we required more than a coat to stay warm.
For dinner, we opted to eat out, and found a lovely Somalian restaurant called Hooyo’s Kitchen. I highly recommend it to anyone in the area. The owner was extremely friendly and took his time to explain the dishes to us, and the food was so good. Even Little Lion was interested in some of the dishes, and he is going through a picky stage.
That brings us up to Monday, where honestly, I did not do much. The trip took a surprising amount of energy, and with a toddler who still wakes at night, I often wake up feeling like I didn’t sleep at all. Then of course, Tuesday and today, we were dealing with illness. I did a quick grocery shop last night, by myself, and it was so peaceful. I’m really grateful too, because my fridge actually had some quick, easy to cook options. Take me advice, and always have at least one or two quick, easy options.
So that’s been my week so far. I got in a lovely pair of wide leg corduroy pants from Pact, but let me tell you, they are wide. As I mentioned, I have given up sewing, so I’ll be employing some lovely seamstress to fix them into straight leg pants, because that’s more my style.
As for me, I’m about to pop off to bed and work on a delightful book that I literally can’t remember the name of. But I’m almost certain it’s the book Jurassic Park was inspired by. I think I’d quite like to see a movie adaption of this book though, it’s been very entertaining so far.
Anyway, good night, and we’ll chat again soon!
Sierra
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Little Home on Shadow Lake 
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