One of the Best Things About Summer. . .

is going to the farmers' markets with my husband and son. Last week, we went to the Oswego Country Market, and we enjoyed ourselves. Part of it, I think, is just being able to be outside and enjoy the morning air. Nick likes it when people bring their puppies to the markets.

On Sunday, we bought asparagus, peaches, spinach, fingerling potatoes, salad dressing, tomatoes, and onions. They were all pretty fresh, and the rainbow fingerling potatoes were my favorite this week. They were delicious in olive oil.

Nick absolutely loved the hot cinnamon doughnuts that they sold. He got sugar in some pretty weird places, like the crook of his knees and up behind his ears. After finishing our shopping, we went walking by the river and let Nick play in the park. When he saw the park up in the distance, he screamed with glee and started running, full force, towards the slide. Nicholas was vibrating with excitement and kept pointing and screaming, "Whee!" as he ran. The swings were his favorite, I think. . . especially this big boy swing.

Sometimes I feel kind of guilty, because I have such a high energy kid. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a high energy mom. He is eager for any kind of exercise, and I am exceptionally good at finding excuses to sit on the couch with a good book. Perhaps Nick is good for me, in that sense, although he's also exhausting. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow, because I'm thinking of taking him for a long walk and then for a run and a climb in the park. That should tire him out.

Puppies and Duck in Wisconsin

I'm still waiting for my sister to send out her Thanksgiving pictures, so I'll talk about Friday first. We took Nick up to Greg's dad and stepmom's place in Delavan, Wisconsin, where we stayed until Saturday morning. We did not shop on Black Friday. I cannot think of anything I want badly enough to risk injury and hour-long lines. As you can see, Nick had fun playing with the puppies. I wish I had taken more pictures, but we were too busy enjoying ourselves.

Nick's grandparents took us out for dinner at a place called the Duck Inn. The food there was delicious, and yes, Nick ate and liked duck. He was relatively well-behaved, although he made quite a mess. His Uncle Matthew was holding him for awhile, and he kept trying to steal his Aunt Sarah's Brandy Alexander. That would not have been good. Don't think for a moment that the boy was deprived, though. We fed him chocolate lava cake for dessert.

Can you see the chocolate smeared all over his cheek? Not a bad trip. We got back yesterday and have pretty much stayed in our pajamas since. Five day weekends are nice. Very nice.

Puppy Kisses

Last Sunday Greg and I took Nick to see his Grandma and Grandpa in Delavan, Wisconsin. They have two very cute dachshund puppies who loved to lick his face.

Nick adores dogs. In fact, he loves animals of all kinds. The only problem is that he tends to grab ears and pull fur and even bite. (The baby, not the dogs.) I was appreciative of how tolerant the doggies were of Nick's explorations. They whimpered a bit, but never bit or even growled. These were extremely friendly doggies.


The highlight of the trip was that Nick got to see his Great-Grandma. She is 94, and she's only met Nicholas once, when he was about a week old. She had fun cuddling with him and watching him play.


This week has been crazy busy. I have to go back to work next Monday, and I'm trying to get my last little bits of summer joy in before vacation ends.

Part of me is actually looking forward to going back to work; I love the kids and the people I get to work with everyday. But I'm going to miss having as much time with Nick. He and I have gotten closer over the summer. I suppose it's really good for him to be around other kids at the babysitter's house, though. Nick loves playing with other kids.