I have to tell you guys, I really like pickles.

I mean, I REALLY like pickles. Dills for sure (hell no to those crappy country-style pickles), like the ones I have right now are Banquet Crunchy Dills by Nalley. Buy one get one free, and as I beleive I have mentioned before this, I am a sucker for a deal. Especially a deal on pickles.

During the same shopping trip, I must admit that I also bought some Lindt truffles. I swear to you, these things are so good but they are like 220 calories EACH!

Each.

But soooooooo good, and see now I’ve talked myself into going and having one, right now.

**

Ahhhhh. Now that’s the ticket.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, I was going to tell you what’s been going on this last few weeks!

Firstly, my sister had a baby which I think I mentioned in passing but now I finally have pictures:

Yep, that’s The Kid with the Baby and those are indeed my boobs. Not the point of the picture, but I can’t resist pointing them out. How could I not?

Secondly, I finally finished the section of patio in the back yard. Flowers and stuff galore, and I cannot WAIT until it’s all finished. It’s certainly coming along in the meantime though:

In between some of the bricks I planted some thyme plants and alyssum, like so:

It is SO neat looking. I plan to continue it all the way around the stump-planter, and then fence the whole back yard. On the other side of the yard is going to be a little gazebo deck thingie, but I haven’t come close to starting on that just yet.

In other news, the Kid got really really sick with croup a couple weeks ago. One Saturday night he woke up crying and couldn’t breathe. I freaked out. As I am sure you can imagine.

If you aren’t familiar with croup, the way the doctor explained to me (he drew it on a napkin, even) it’s a swelling of the throat that ends up right behind the voiceboxes. The voice boxes already stick out a little into your throat, and so when there’s swelling behind them, it makes the throat close up in little kids, since their throats are smaller. Hence the horrible wheezing noise and difficulty breathing. In adults it would basically be laryngitis (which I was home with the entire following week after the Kid recovered).

So PVDD was at work with the car and I called him (a little frantic, though not where the Kid could hear) and he sent a friend of his over to pick me up and take us to the hospital. Luckily for the Kid they recognized what it was immediately and saw him right away. He was quite impressed with himself, getting to breathe through a dinosaur shaped oxygen mask, let me tell you. They gave him a mist treatment through the mask, some grape tasting medicine, and let him watch Toy Story for the next two hours or so, then shipped him back home. I have to say that night was one of the more scarier nights I have yet experienced as Mom.

He stayed home with me for a week, then went back to school and Dad’s while I then got sick and was home for a week. Bummer.

I think that’s about it really, just working in the yard, handling sick kids and enjoying my first nephew. The Kid is over the moon about his new “baby cousin”. He’s so excited it’s the cutest thing ever.

On the agenda for today is walking with the Dogs, getting a haircut, and celebrating The Lindsay’s 30th birthday! We’re stoked and excited and all that crap. Seriously, we are, we haven’t seen her in forever and it’s going to be awesome. I have no idea what to get for a birthday present, suggestions welcome (from you too, Linds!).

I shall blog it tomorrow. I promise, I do, I do I do.