This and That

Things have been relatively quiet here in the M household. The most excitement we've had all week was the invasion of a legion of ants in our dining room (last Saturday) and our first ear infection of the season (Finn, of course). The ants suddenly appeared in combination with a particularly messy granola bar snack and sweeping the deck to remove dead leaves. The hapless and not-big-enough mat that is under Finn's booster seat was swarming with tiny little ants within an hour of the sweeping. Much spraying and vacuuming later, as well as a visit from Orkin today, and the little buggers are gone.

As far as the ear infection goes, that was a surprise, too. Finn had a cold that had FINALLY disappeared several days ago. - we thought all was fine. Plus, he has tubes in his ears, and since they were installed last December we haven't had a single ear infection to deal with. However, I received a call from daycare on Wednesday alerting me to the fact that Finn apparently had tons of drainage leaking out of his right ear. A not-so-quick trip to the doctor's confirmed the infection, and Finn is now the recipient of oral and topical (ear drops) antibiotics for the next week and a half. We also discovered that his left ear tube has come out - this was noticed when the doctor cleared out some wax to check Finn's left ear and discovered a tiny green tube inside the impressively gross ball-o-wax. So, I'm guessing that while this was the first ear infection of the season, it will not be the last, especially since we are down to only one tube.

Despite the ants and the ear infection, we've had generally good spirits all around. Today we headed to the "Great Pumpkin Patch" festival for a few hours. Finn had a ball with the little trackless train, the Trick-or-Treat Trail, the hayride that took us to the pumpkin patch, and the petting zoo. Despite the long lines and hot sun, he was really well behaved. We took a few pictures, though I'm not sure yet if they are any good. He's now safely tucked in bed, and M. and I are trying to wind down with a little TV before we hit the hay ourselves. The Wisconsin game is on right now, though, which is not helping M. relax, mostly because they are down 10 - nope, make that 17 - and not looking good. As a supportive wife, I should be worked up, too, but mostly I'm just tired :-).

One complain-y side note: Why is it that a child who needs to be woken up by his parents at 7 am on Friday to keep everyone from being late that day, wakes up at 6:09 on Saturday, when no one has to be ANYWHERE, and all the other warm-blooded creatures in the house wish to stay in their comfortable beds?? Here's hoping he's kinder to us tomorrow morning...

One inquisitive side note: M. and I are headed out on Monday night to do some shopping for Finn's upcoming birthday (we have a babysitter coming, so we can actually accomplish the shopping without the distraction of a toddler who wants everything he sees). Seeking some ideas here - if you were a 2-year-old boy, what presents would you want to open on your birthday?