After the Rain

This afternoon was warm and sunny. This whole week has been grey and cold and rainy, so we took advantage of the sunshine. After Cora got home from school....okay, wait, I can't go on without an omission:

I was up later than usual last night talking to a cousin, Magnolia's waking up ended our conversation, so I ended up going to bed sometime after midnight and before one. I took Cora to school, Goo and I came home and took a nap. My alarm went off at 2:40 like it does every day so I know that I need to stop what I'm doing and start getting everything together to go pick Cora up from school. I'm snoozing, my alarm goes off. I lie there for a few minutes and then look at the clock. 3:20!!! You have got to be kidding me! I totally fell back asleep and didn't even know I had. (Carpool starts at 2:55.) I picked up Magnolia, didn't even put her shoes on (but I did grab them), and we walk-ran to Staci car.

It's 3:26, and I'm stopped at 30th and Shartel when my phone starts ringing. It's Cora's teacher. And it's official. Carpool has ended, it's worse than being the last car in-line. There is no line. Which is kind of crazy, because some days I don't even make it out of carpool with Cora in tow until 3:30, and there are still several cars behind me. Anyway, on the day carpool goes by with super-human speed, I am late. I pulled up at 3:28. Cora is waiting with her teacher in the office. It's all good.

Ah-hem: After Cora got home from school, we loaded up in the stroller and headed off for the grocery store to get the two ingredients we needed for dinner. We really just needed black beans, but two cans of them. We left with black beans and pickles...and some plain ol' peppermint Orbit gum because it's getting harder to find. Wintermint is all kinds of taking over. We'd also packed some holiday treats to give to some of our neighbors.

The real fun was the park. The first friend's home we stopped at was before the park, and she gave me some towels to wipe the swings off with as it had been raining. I was happy to see that there was no wiping required when we arrived. As it turns out, lots of people had been getting out to enjoy the day just as we were. We spent a while playing and talking with new friends. When it was time to leave, the sun and wispy clouds were making a beautiful sunset. Cora loved all of the pink clouds. I loved the warm glow. We stopped in at some neighbors on our block, Cora raced with Pineapple (aka Megan). They love each other. I love being outside after it's rained.

When we walked to our home, it was all lit up and cozy. Jake was home early. I LOVE when I get to walk into a non-empty house. He'd made dinner. Sloppy Joes. They were great. I ate two...and a half...no less than 20 minutes after I'd discussed the re-emergence of the love handles on my back with my afore mentioned neighbors. (Jenn Tupps, I have one package left for you, but I'd rather stop by when you're home.)

The girls went to bed easily. I have high hopes, as I do every night, that Magnolia will pull an all-nighter asleep in her bed. She had her 18-month check up yesterday. She is TERRIFIED of the nurse because of the whole shot thing. When she sees her, she falls a part. So, we didn't really get an accurate height and weight. Like I was weighed by myself and then with her because she wouldn't hang out on the scale. She's rollin' around 20 pounds, and she's just under 30 inches tall, but that was taken as she was lunging out to me. All that adds up to her still being right around the sixth percentile, where she's been since her two week appointment. She got one shot and had some blood drawn. The nurse called me with the results (right as I was drifting off in nap land) of the blood work and she is right in the middle of the normal range for her hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit levels (i.e., she's not anemic). She's healthy and happy and sassy as all get-out.

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