Enjoying the Holiday Weekend

This pursing of the lips is Calleigh's latest little thing that she likes to do. We think she's pretending to be a monkey.

Tomorrow marks the unofficial end of summer which means that fall must be on its way. Not that we really have fall down here but it does get a little bit cooler and I can hang my orange wreath on the door. Fall is definitely my favorite season because it means that Christmas isn't too far away. It's also the time that I miss living in New England the most - - nothing beats that fall nip in the air. I suppose I'm getting a little ahead of myself here as it's only August 31 but I did just finalize my plane ticket up north for Sept 25 - Oct. 2 so I'm kindof excited. Of course, now the worry starts about flying with Calleigh without Duncan...You have no idea how tiny those seats are on a plane until you have a toddler in your lap.

On Friday I got a call from Rob Fulbright who is the head honcho at Florida Hospital Altamonte. He had heard about my June experience from my boss and was calling to hear the account first hand. I do know him from capital meetings and so forth. Anyway, I told him all the negative things that happened in the ER and all the awesome things that happened once I got to the floor. He promised that he would share my story with the people in charge in the ED so they could learn from it. He told me that if I was ever in the hospital again and I needed anything that he was available 24/7 and I should give him a call. So I thought it was very nice for him to call me in the first place and in the second place to make that offer. I'm sure he is a very busy person.

Also on Friday, I took Calleigh in to Accounting to visit the folks there since my friend Tim was visiting from Kettering. David came with us so he could meet some new people and check out the hospital. While we were in Accounting, Calleigh did not say a single word. In fact, she wouldn't even leave my arms. I don't know what the meaning of that was but that is not like her. We ate at the cafe afterwards and she was back to her usual self in no time. As a side note to Friday, we didn't do waffle night since Shannon was working.

We've noticed the last few weeks that Calleigh has had an especially difficult time sitting in Cradle Roll and taking part in the program. Now that we're in a bigger room, there is a lot of room to walk around and there are a bunch of tables set up with puzzles, coloring books, etc. that seem much more interesting than listening to the teacher. Yesterday she took off after a few minutes with Braelyn following right behind and the two of them sat themselves down at a craft table without any assistance and starting "coloring" away. If you try to move her back to the program you are met with great resistance and a lot of noise. So what to do?

After Calleigh's nap yesterday, the weather had taken a turn for the worse once again but we hate to stay cooped up so we made a dash for the playground during a break in the rain. We were there for a total of five minutes but it was a fun five minutes. There was a GIANT puddle that Calleigh made a beeline for and did her usual thing. When it started pouring again, we made hasty exit. Calleigh was completely soaked from the puddle so we talk off all her clothes and left her in her diaper for the ride home. She was not happy she had to leave and made quite a fit. Once we got home, I tried changing her diaper downstairs and ended up just letting her go naked for awhile. I think that made up for leaving the playground early because she seemed quite happy to prance around in her birthday suit. I will refrain from posting any pictures to maintain her dignity.

Last night Megan volunteered to come over while Calleigh was sleeping so that we could go out with Ron and Elaine and finally celebrate Elaine's birthday which was on August 10. We, of course, had been in Nova Scotia and then the boys had been here for the week and so, at long last, we had some free time to go out. We went to eat at the Elephant Bar Restaurant which is a new place at the Altamonte Mall. It has a very nice ambiance and we enjoyed ourselves and the food. Any meal that I can eat in peace is a real treat! Afterwards, we came back here and introduced Ron, Elaine, and Megan to Dutch Blitz. My humility almost prevents me from saying that I kicked butt.

Today we really got some work done. Duncan cleaned the porch and finished cleaning the garage and we both just cleaned out the guest room/office closet complete with two bags of trash and a bunch of stuff for the Salvation Army. I definitely take after my mother in that I love to throw stuff away! In between all the cleaning, we took Calleigh back to the park and were there for about 45 minutes this time. She went right up to where the puddle was yesterday and started saying puddle but alas, it had all dried up. So she had to spend her time actually playing with the playground equipment, imagine that. She did take a minute to play with some other workout equipment and we noticed that she has a great sense of balance!

In closing, here is a picture of Calleigh decked out in my headband and hair pieces. For the record, she adorned herself with this stuff all on her own. I didn't lift a finger. As you can see, she appears to be a real girl! The context of this picture is that she's coming out of her hiding place in my clothes. It's one of her favorite spots. If you ever can't find her, always check the closet first thing. Here's she is also with her purse and a set of keys in hand. She even has the car key clutched correctly as if she's about to get in the car and go!