Carolina Brown

Have you ever felt like you just can't catch up? That's the way I've felt the past two weeks. I've felt like I've been at least an hour behind most days from the moment I wake up until the moment my head hits the pillow. For a person who always wants to be ahead of schedule this is rather disconcerting. There were times I'd occasionally oversleep before motherhood, but now I'm doing it constantly. I try to wait until Edmund is in bed to complete my daily tasks whenever possible, but when things are hanging over my head I find it hard to truly be in the moment with Edmund. This is not how I want things to be, so I'm trying my hardest to let the little things go. Quitting my job would be the easiest solution to constantly being behind, but this is not a realistic option. So for now I've learned to (gasp) leave unwashed breakfast bowls on the table to be washed at a later time. That's as far as I've gotten thus far in not sweating the small stuff. I still can't leave the house with an unmade bed, lest the stuffed animals shame me for my untidiness. Baby steps I say.

On Tuesday evening I was itching to check my email. Ten years ago I barely knew how to use email, but now this electronic form of communication threatens my time with Edmund. I went to our office, despite the fact Edmund would be in bed within the next 30 minutes. Because updates on where to park at school the next day just can't wait. Edmund followed me into the office. I noticed the card we got for Aunt Becca sitting on the desk and decided email could wait. Edmund and I needed to sign Aunt Becca's birthday card.

I retrieved the box of 64 crayons from the office closet and situated Edmund at his table. When Edmund signs cards he is very deliberate in his choice of colors and makes small strokes each time. No scribbling for Edmund. It may be that Edmund gets the most joy from removing and replacing crayons so much that he rushes through each mark, but I'll stick to the theory he is formulating each and every waxy line of color.

At first Edmund was choosing only the very few colors in the box of crayons that barely show on white paper. White and yellow-green are lovely to be sure, but the recipient of the card may miss the signature entirely. Thus I encouraged Edmund to find some colors with more oomph. He chose shade after shade of brown. Edmund is his own person and I didn't want to dissuade him from his choice of colors, so I commented on his marks and the colors he chose. "You made a line using burnt sienna. Look at the squiggle you made using tumbleweed. Wow you're drawing an E using raw sienna." Who knew so many shades of brown existed? Finally Edmund found a crayon with some color. I told him the shade of blue he had in his hand was called Carolina Blue. Edmund looked at it and decided to replace it in the box. Edmund reached back into the box, pulled out yet another brown crayon, and proudly declared "I'm going to color with Carolina Brown."

Thank you Becca for having a birthday. If I weren't behind on your card (it should be there soon), I would have checked email and forgotten my vow to make sure I truly enjoy every moment with Edmund. And I wouldn't have been privy to the knowledge that the baby blue color used to define UNC-Chapel Hill is about to get a complete makeover. Tar Heel fans prepare yourselves. The boys in blue are about to become the boys in brown.

Edmund and the Magical, Mystical Pumpkin

Pumpkin Cultivator Extraordinaire

A few weeks after we moved into our new house Steven noticed a very large vine slowly taking over our back yard. Steven became convinced we had pumpkins growing in our yard and began nurturing this vine. I was far from convinced. Because this vine appeared shortly after we had a ditch dug around the house for a french drain, I assumed the people who reseeded the yard mistakenly planted some foreign weeds instead of the grass seed most commonly used to reseed a yard. Nevertheless I let Steven carry on with the delusion, occasionally asking him to prune the vine when I began to fear the neighbors would report us to the homeowner's association.

As time went on I decided to "Google" pumpkin and squash leaves. I have very little knowledge of gardening, but from what I found online we most likely had some sort of squash growing in our back yard. Only time would tell what kind. On Sunday we finally got our answer. We indeed have pumpkins growing in our back yard. We have one small, hardy green pumpkin on the vine and three or four mini pumpkin sprouts.

Now during our afternoon yard play Edmund will frequently ask to touch the pumpkin. He gets a kick out of giving the pumpkin a quick pat, then giggles as he announces, "I touch it." After touching the pumpkin on Monday he discovered a bale of hay, again left by our french drain diggers, and began bouncing on it. This gave me a great idea. The Pattishalls are going to have their very own pumpkin patch this year. $5 gets you your pick of the finest pumpkins Durham has to offer followed by a frolic in a very filthy bale of hay. You think I'm kidding? Just wait until the goats arrive!

Ready, Set, Get Wet

The Epitome of Water Play

On Sunday, at Nan's (my mommy group's coordinator) suggestion, Edmund, Steven and I made our way to Northgate Mall. Steven hadn't seen Edmund in several days due to his hectic WakeMed schedule and wanted to tag along. I told him that when the mommies showed up he could get a pretzel. Fortunately, Nan's husband, Scott, also came along for the afternoon, so Steven would have a guy to hang out with. Nan and Scott have two boys, L who is Edmund's age and 4 month old C. The bonus of having the daddies around was that the mommies could talk while the dads chased the kids.

I actually remember the last time I went to Northgate Mall. I was a sophomore in college and my mom took my sister and I there to do some Christmas shopping. This was in the days before Southpoint Mall and the suburban sprawl that came with it popped into existence. I can't knock the suburban sprawl too much as our house was a direct result of that very sprawl. Northgate wasn't a very nice mall back then, was quite a drive, but at the time was the best we had. Steven said his last trip to Northgate was even more distant than mine.

I can't say that a whole lot has really changed for Northgate. It is still reminiscent of its days back in the early 90s despite a minor facade overhaul, and the store selection is still subpar. The one thing this mall has going for it, however, is its kiddie entertainment. We didn't plan to hit up the carousel, train, or my personal favorite The Sea of Learning teacher store inside the mall. Sunday was all about the water. Northgate has a beautiful arrangement of fountain jets near Entrance 2. If my memory serves me correctly these fountains weren't around when I was younger. The great thing about the fountains is that there is a sign clearly inviting people to jump on in, unlike those fountain plaques that boldly state "KEEP OFF".

I thought it pointless to put Edmund in his swimsuit. He was definitely timid at Sesame Place when it came to water jets, and we had two days to break him in there. I told Steven to pack a change of clothes and a towel and be done with it. For some reason, however, the towel didn't make it.

When we arrived L. was surveying the water. Edmund took one look at the water and began saying "no, no, no." I tried showing Edmund how much fun it was to get wet. He seemed to find it perfectly fine for mommy or daddy to get wet, but he was not getting near the water. His plan was to involve L. in a game of chase around the perimeter of the fountains. Eventually L. tired of this game and bravely made the first entrance into the water. Edmund wanted nothing to do with this. As Edmund saw L. having more and more fun, he shyly inched his way nearer to the fountains. A little mist was all he needed.

After his misting, Edmund got even more brave. He found a wall between the jets and discovered he could basque in their glory without getting wet. He was laughing hysterically. That is until we noticed that his laughter was now screams of panic. The wall was no longer his protector and Edmund was drenched. Steven calmed Edmund down. Then suddenly Edmund had no fear. The drenching seemed to have taken the fear away. Edmund swerved in and out of the fountain jets chasing L., all the while laughing and squealing. The two boys relished in the excitement of the water for about 20 more minutes, until their 2 year old batteries had little charge left. We decided to call it a day, but first we had to get our special treat.

Although Northgate may not have much in the way of shopping. it does have a strategically placed Marble Slab Creamery near the fountains. Can you think of a better way to end a fun day at the fountains than with a creamy cup of cold ice cream? I know Edmund can't!

I have to thank Nan and Scott for these gorgeous pictures. Steven and I have gotten a bit lazy with the camera, so perhaps we'll take our cue from them and start snapping away again.

Who Likes Cherry?

Edmund has been sick this week, so we haven't had too many adventures to speak of. Edmund has probably run a fever higher than 100 degrees once in his life, so on Wednesday when he spiked a fever close to 104 degrees I decided to take him to the doctor. Despite having a doctor in the family, I try to avoid doctors as much as possible. I know that for most children's illnesses, nature simply has to take its course. I also have this fear of being viewed as the over-reactive mother who takes her child in for every minor cold and scrape. However, in this instance I thought Edmund's high fever warranted a trip to see the doctor.

Edmund's illness seemed to be viral based on his complete blood count and symptoms. The doctor did hear a slight rattle in his chest, so he wanted to err on the side of caution and prescribed antibiotics. We left the doctor and headed to Walgreens to pick up Edmund's prescription.

Fortunately, Edmund and I didn't have to wait long for his prescription was ready when we arrived. The pharmacist asked if Edmund liked cherry flavor. I said "I suppose so, but he hasn't had medicine very often, so I'm not sure." I should have asked if she could add chocolate, but although she asked, it didn't appear as if we had much of a choice.

The medication flavoring discussion in Walgreens brought back a childhood memory. To this day I despise anything grape or cherry flavored because most often the antibiotics I received for strep throat were sweetened with these syrupy flavors. My sister, Rebecca, was allergic to penicillin. For some reason this seemed to open up a plethora of flavoring options. It seemed she was always coming back from the doctor with some new, exotic flavor. After Rebecca was diagnosed for yet another ear infection (for which she later got tubes), she came back with bubblegum flavored anitibiotics. I remember wanting so desperately to steal a taste of the bubblegum medicine. Fortunately, I was a child who understood that medicine is only to be taken when sick. There is certainly a reason for those childproof caps, for had I been a child of less restraint, I'm not sure I would have been able to stand the allure of the pink stuff beckoning to me from the refrigerator.

All this is to say, it probably doesn't matter if Edmund likes cherry flavored medicine. In fact, his medicine should be disgusting enough that he doesn't see it as some delicious treat, yet palatable enough that he doesn't spew it on me each time I have to administer it. I may have been the only child in the history of the world who was jealous of her sibling because of medication flavorings, but pharmacists do your clients a favor and flavor siblings' medications the same way. Perhaps you can spare at least one family an unnecessary case of sibling rivalry.

Edmund Update:
Edmund is feeling much better today and was fever free as of 8 am. We have had another mommy and Edmund day at home because our school's policy states he must be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school. I love Edmund to pieces, but I'm so glad he has his preschool friends to keep him entertained and encourage sharing. He's starting to get a little bossy with mommy. Just a few more days and his friends will put him back in his place. Until then, I'm just thankful he's feeling better.