August, the Longest Month

August, formerly classified in my brain as "hot/humid month, lots of angry yellow jackets" has now been moved to a new file, marked "warmish month, long days of no camp/no preschool, not one moment of continuous thought without interruption from small child, fun nonetheless."

Oh, and there are still angry yellow jackets. They were swarming our car the other day when we went peach picking (sure, we WERE at an orchard, but I don't like being an active part of the "sweet-to-meat" transition for these little stingers.)

My Achilles heal as a parent is making daily plans---figuring out activities, getting us out of the house, contacting people for playdates, etc. I am just AWFUL at it. I'm getting better, sure, but really, this is not my forte. This weakness has made August with a very precocious four-year old at times, well, LONG. We've cobbled together some fun, though, at least enough to ward off boredom and keep us sane. I consider that great success.

Our month kicked off with the anniversary triad on "August Eve"---Mike and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on July 31st, my parents celebrated 39 on August 1st, and Mike's parents had their 40th on the 2nd. Three days, 89 years of marriage among us. Mom and Dad watched EJ on our anniversary so Mike and I could have the whole day together, and it was great---we went to a matinee, had frozen yogurt at the hip place we'd never tried, enjoyed an early dinner of Korean food at one of our favorite restaurants---simply perfect. On their anniversary, we met them in Beloit for an Andreoli family reunion, where EJ promptly fell in love with my cousin's son, and the two of them began planning their wedding sometime between the playground and their paddle boat ride. Must have been all that anniversary mojo in the air. The next day, we headed up to dinner in Evanston to celebrate with Mike's parents.

Then (July 31, 1999)...



...and now (wearing the same pearls he gave me on the eve of our wedding)



Our Wedding Covenant (Must be working---check out Mike's calligraphy, and signatures from everyone who attended our ceremony and reception)



Young Love, Family Picnic-Style



Happy 40th Anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa



The family reunion wasn't our only weekend away this month---we have been out of town every weekend of August. Two weekends in a row, we traveled up to Kenosha to have a rummage sale at my parents' place, hoping to sell off all the baby clothes and items that we sorted through and hauled out of our condo earlier this summer. The sale was a bust, really, but we packed everything up, and will try again in the spring. Our second weekend up in K-town, we checked out their dinosaur museum, which is housed in the old Kenosha Museum building, where I spent many happy childhood moments when my aunt was active there. Even though we now live in a big city with big, fabulous museums, I think that the dinosaur dig, puzzle, and drawing area in this museum's basement charmed EJ as much as anything we've seen in Chicago.

Pink Goggles On, Brush in Hand



Uncovering the Fossil



Proud of her Pieced-Together Dinosaurs



It hasn't been a particularly beachy August, but we did manage to make it to Lake Michigan as a family one sunny afternoon. EJ had a great time running through the fountain at the 63rd Street Beach, but as there was a red flag at that location that afternoon (lesson learned: the Chicago Parks internet site is not up-to-date on beach closings), she couldn't enjoy the waves until we packed up and moved to South Shore Beach, just a few minutes away.

Skipping Through the Fountains



Sunny Smiles



Who Cares About the Swim Ban? (aka, This Fountain Is Awesome)



Building Sandcastles with Daddy



Finally, this past weekend, we were able to visit our cousins in Ann Arbor, and just had a fantastic time. On Sunday, my cousin's daughter turned three, so everyone came over for a party. EJ loved playing with her, and it was such a treat to see everyone and their kids. Our whole time there was filled with great company, great conversation, great food---our family is amazing, plain and simple. We spent Monday at Greenfield Village, where EJ got to ride on the historic carousel. On our way home, Tuesday, we stopped at an orchard (aka, Yellow Jacket Central), and picked some peaches.

Carousel Ride with the Cousins



Catch the Brass Ring



There is Cobbler in My Future



I'm so grateful that we have had things to do and relatives to visit to keep this month moving along, because without them, I wouldn't have enough recharge to tackle the two+ weeks left until preschool begins again. As long as the days seem, though, EJ certainly comes up with things to do when I run out of inspiration. Check out her present for me yesterday:

Blue Band-Aid on Head, Smiley Face on Floor



The band-aid was purely decorative. The smiley face was pure sweetness, made by a kid who said, "I made if for you, because you make me so happy."

Maybe August isn't that long of a month...

Awake

Long time, no updates. We've had some wonky DSL issues at the house which have made posting challenging, but more importantly, we have been out soaking in the summer and enjoying ourselves. I'm more awake and ready-to-go than I have been in years, and I have one thing to thank for this remarkable change: thyroid medicine.

As I posted previously, after years of testing low-normal, my body finally launched a full-scale assault on my thyroid that put my blood test results into the danger zone. I was told that it would take at least six weeks of medication to really feel any difference, but I would say that two weeks in I was waking up a little easier, three weeks in I could tell that my mood was much more steady and my body was less achy, and by one month, I was feeling like a new person. I'm six weeks out now, and I barely recognize the person I was before the medication. It is some kind of miracle---there is no other word for it.

A lot of people told me that, after I finished my masters, the time I used for studying would fill in with home stuff, and I'd wonder how I ever got through school in the first place. I guess I have felt some of that, but truthfully, the bigger question I now ask is, "How did I ever function with that sluggish thyroid?" To describe the level of fatigue, soreness, moodiness, dry skin---I could go on and on---would be impossible, because I didn't even realize how out-of-whack that state of being was until it finally ended. Really, how did I function? My poor family---I must have been a gem to be around sometimes, walking around like a zombie. Bless them for sticking it out.

Mike and I celebrated our tenth anniversary on July 31st, and as we talked about my new, awake, steadier self, my husband said, "I feel like I just got back the person I married. You are yourself again." I don't think there is better testimony than that for the power of thyroid medication, except to say that I feel like that person, too, and I really missed her.