Drop & Dash

We did the drop and dash today. I had court and Erich had a "stop ship" (apparently an emergency in the automotive manufacturing world). Eli had a temperature and was altogether cranky, but we had no choice but to take him to daycare, give him a kiss, and slink out, hoping that nobody would notice his glassy eyes. I called to check on him immediately after court and was told that he was listless and felt warm, so immediately went to pick him up. I took him to urgent care, where he was diagnosed with a mild ear infection. The medication kicked in right away and he was feeling much better. He went into my office with me to take care of some urgent matters, then we went out to lunch at Chili's (although he objected: "Chili's is gross, Mom.") Then we shopped at JoAnne's to get material for Nolah's Halloween costume. It's amazing to me how well behaved he is when he is away from Nolah, and how easy it is to deal with just one child...it's not just half the work, it's somehow a mere fraction of the work. Speaking of fractions, I'm still challenged to figure out how to live on a fraction of our old income now that I'm working part-time and we're paying through the nose for daycare. I'm very proud of my accomplishments this week though. When we were out of cleaning solution, I mixed vinegar, water and Borax, and cleaned the entire downstairs. Tonight, I created a completely edible meal out of half a box of macaroni, frozen ground venison from the freezer, handfulls of oregano, basil and fennel from the garden, a can of tomato sauce from the pantry, and half a container of ricotta that needed to be used up - seriously, delicious. Three years ago, this scenario would have qualified as "there's nothing in the house to eat" and we would have been hightailing it to Bahama Breeze for cubans and cocktails.