Another Day in Paradise

You wouldn't know, just by looking at these happy little hooligans, that they'd had one heck of a day. Baxter's started with a trip to the pediatric opthalmologist - for those of you following the "vision" thread of our lives, it's apparently perfectly normal for a child to occasionally see purple and green splotches at the outer edges of his vision. And the headaches? Probably allergies (or a smart 5-year old trying to make his need for glasses really obvious). In truth, we hadn't been that worried until his pediatrician became concerned after he failed the vision screening recently. So, phew, no glasses - at least not yet!

With Baxter's eyes still dilated, he and his brother were tricked into a trip to the doctor for their annual flu shots this afternoon. "Why do we need to see Dr. Rauen again?" Baxter asked, perplexed. "Oh, " I said casually, finally learning how to get him in there without a fit. "She just wants us to check in this afternoon - it'll be quick." Umm, yeah, except for that part that won't be quick when we have to peel all 55 pounds of you off the floor where you are kicking and screaming (just the slightest bit better than last year because you'll actually make it to the exam room before freaking out).

Trying to make the best of things, I had some treats in my bag to help take their minds off their troubles after the shots. On the way home, we saw that there was a pumpkin patch set up next to Baxter's school so we parked and walked over there. On the way, Baxter's attempt to hold Lyle back from the street was, shall we say, "overzealous", and Lyle bit him in self-defense. "He knew my OTHER arm already hurt from my shot and he just wanted THIS arm to hurt, too!", he cried. Well, honey, I'm afraid your little brother wasn't thinking quite so strategically when you put him in a headlock and forced him to the ground.

But somehow, by the time we reached the front porch and added our new pumpkin to our existing collection, they were all smiles again.