Life Has Returned

Though a week has passed, I feel I need to write about the end of my weekend without Matt and Sam and last weeks events.

Last Saturday evening was another one of those magical evenings you never forget in your lifetime. I had dinner with Sherri, Norbert and Sherri's sister, Janet. We sat in Sherri's back yard...a small oasis in the city. Brick paths lined with fantastically textured flower gardens, herbs and trees...there is such a medley of color and scents. It is a perfectly relaxing space and I LOVE being there with her.

This evening was especially nice as Sherri and Norbert's kids were both out at friends' homes and it was just us adults and Arlo in the sling. We ate great foods, sheep milk cheeses, and hummus. We drank wine and summer cocktails...laughing, so much laughing. Stories being told left and right.
The age old tradition of story telling is revived in Sherri's home. I always know I can hear a wonderful story when I visit. Not only is Sherri a master at creating flavors in foods, she is a master with flavoring words with description.
Sherri and Janet had just returned from two weeks in Belize and the music of the country came with them, the passion of the culture came with them. It really was a magical evening.
At one point Sherri and Janet wanted to share a story of their past with me, but decided to make me guess the basic outline and they gave me three clues: A Beaver, Mexicans, and Brown Briefcases. After 2 or 3 strong drinks, I could barely see straight, let alone think straight and I played the 20 questions, trying to decipher the story, but to no avail. When the true story came out, bouncing from one sister to the other, laughs and snorts in between from all, it was fantastic.
By midnight Arlo was sleeping in the wicker rocker by the house and I was so relaxed I knew I'd be ready for anything the upcoming week had to bring...

Little did I know what it would bring: illness. Both boys ended up catching the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. It is such an awful virus, pain and sores and nothing can be done except pain relief with Tylenol.

And that brings us to today. Both boys are now feeling normal and both boys are as spunky as ever. We started Arlo on solid foods this week and he seems to be finally taking to it. He is also now ON THE MOVE! Yes, at 6 mos. to the day he started army crawling and can wiggle his way across the floor with great determination. The actual crawling is not far behind. He is waking at night and trying to crawl in bed...it is really on his mind. Even his upper teeth making their push down have stopped to allow all bodily energies available for the crawling. I know my world is about to change drastically and I love it!