Thursday Trials

I have three days off of work each week. I try to get the middle of the week off, it works with our homeschooling pretty well. It also means we need no daycare. For at least ten weeks now my days off have been dominated not just by schooling, but by car troubles, house repairs, and sick children. While the weather was bitterly cold, I was fairly content to not have freedom. As it has warmed up I have been a bit antsy.



I was thinking that this week was going to be THE WEEK. The week that broke the streak. Tuesday we did some schooling, Vivi tried out some new letters, Zoey had a great piano lesson, I got the last part for my windshield installed. YIPPY! Wednesday is my day with Vivi. Zoey goes to a six hour class, so we get some time together. This Wednesday Vivi was easily upset, a bit lethargic, rather clingy,and finally she napped on the couch at noon. All odd behaviors. I took her temperature, or as she calls it, her ear number. She had a fever of 102F. Shoot and bang. Another week with a sick kid. Well, Wednesday was kind of windy and overcast. Sigh....


Thursday dawned gloriously beautiful. I snuggled Vivi on the couch lots and cleaned my desk. I gave Zoey a math test and then introduced a new concept. I was going to have Vivi lay low, stay quiet, not exert herself too much. Our pediatrician always advises that the kids can do darn near anything as long as they are not sporting a fever. Well, Vivi did take some ibuprofen. It did REDUCE her fever. She WANTED to go outside.

I snapped and chucked the kids in our zoomaroom and bolted for the Coastal Refuge. There have been loads of sandhill cranes, Canadian geese and snow geese spotted there in the last few days. I have been jonesing for a look at loads of sandhill cranes since they are usually more solitary. It was warm but a bit breezy at Oceanview Park. We walked down to the refuge and into the alders and willows. We saw the fattest, nicest black-capped chickadee who did not give a hoot we were two feet from him. He just eyed us with curiosity. And we heard gazillions of sandhill cranes. It was too boggy and we were walking with a feverish four year old. There was no way I was going to cover the ground I needed to cover, nor do it without loads of whining. I gave up. This is the last chance I will have until Tuesday to do this. Darn it!


On our way back to the car we were treated with a juvenile bald eagle flying about 10 feet above us and then perching on a tree by the train tracks. We had also had an adult fly over our car not too far from our home, and another adult on our way back up the hill. I guess it was a day for eagles, but I really wanted cranes. At least I got outside.