Lake Geneva - FAIL

Well, this weekend didn’t turn out quite like we had planned.

Baron wasn’t feeling well on Wednesday of last week, but by Thursday morning, he seemed to have the pep back in his step. So, I figured that whatever had upset his stomach and exhausted him on Wednesday had worked its way out of his system. Therefore, I felt okay about dropping him off at Chew Chew Doggie Daycare and for the weekend while we went to Lake Geneva for the annual Puri Cousins’ trip. I gave the boarding staff a heads up that he had been sick the day before and assured them that I’d only be an hour away if he hadn’t actually recovered and needed to be picked up.

Less than an hour later, I got a phone call saying that he definitely had not recovered and was still indeed sick. They didn’t think it was necessary for me to pick him up yet, but they’d keep him under close observation and let me know how he was doing later that evening. When I called later, when Raj was preparing to leave work and join us in Lake Geneva, they thought Baron had stabilized and would be okay after all.

With my mind at ease, Shawn and I played at the indoor water park with the cousins. Raj met all of us at a pizza place for dinner. Then we returned to the hotel for movies and games in one of the cousins’ rooms.

  



 

When we finally retired to our respective rooms, wiped out from the excitement from the day, the night took a sharp turn down hill.

Shawn was awake all night with horrible congestion and coughing. It hit him very suddenly. He had been fine all day and even during dinner. I noticed his nose was runny while we were playing games, but when he was trying to sleep, it was next to impossible for the poor guy to breathe through his nose. We tried propping him up and even opening his nasal passages in a steamy bathroom, but he/we still didn’t get more than an hour of sleep at any given stretch. He was miserable. Eventually, Raj went to a local grocery store and picked up some medicine for him. It helped significantly, but the sun was already on the rise and we were all exhausted. Finally, some rest.

Until, my phone rang.

Baron needed to be picked up. They were worried he was dehydrated and he wasn’t getting any better. He wasn’t playful at all and just wanted to lay down and sleep – very not like him. I immediately got in the car and drove back to get him. Along the way I reached his vet and scheduled an appointment for her to see him. If I could get there in time, they’d squeeze us in before the office closed. When I reached Baron, he was excited that I was picking him up, but I could tell it wasn’t because he was feeling better. We went straight to the vet.

Though we had to wait a while for our turn, I was grateful Baron could be seen that day at all. While we waited, he laid at my feet soaking in the petting and resting. Meanwhile, an 8 month old Great Dane puppy (who was already hip height to his owner!) was eager to greet everyone who walked by him and couldn’t sit still no matter how hard his owner tried to persuade him.

Dr. Stewart took a blood test and did a rectal exam in search of parasites or any other clues as to what was ailing Baron. He had no fever and she said he didn’t seem dehydrated yet. I was relieved to find out that she didn’t think hospitalization would be necessary. The test for Giardia parasite came back negative – phew! She gave him an antiemetic injection to settle his stomach and cans of I/D dog food to try to get him to eat again. She also prescribed metronidole (antibiotic) pills to give him every 12 hours. The rest of the test results wouldn’t be ready until 8 am the next morning (Saturday). She didn’t recommend that he go back to boarding in case he had some sort of virus, though she thought he’d be fine by himself for a few hours at a time …if we wanted to change our vacation to a staycation.

Meanwhile, Shawn’s medicine seemed to be helping him a lot. He was finally able to sleep, so he and Raj slept in to make up for the lack of sleep over night. When they got up, they spent the day at the lake on their own. They took a one hour boat tour of the lake’s historical sites and had lunch downtown. 

"Let's go there!" Shawn was mapping out their course.

Baron’s stomach had calmed down and I thought he’d be ok for a few hours, like Dr. Stewart had said. So, I drove back to Lake Geneva and joined the family for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. We ate much too much, but had a lot of fun. By the time we got back to the hotel and everyone was prepping for another night of games, it was time for me to get back to Baron. Shawn had fallen asleep while we were still at the restaurant, so Raj suggested that he’d be better off sleeping in his own bed. When we got home, I was able to transfer him to bed and change him into a pullup for the night without waking him. He was out.

Baron hadn’t had any other issues since picking him up from the doggy hotel. I think the antiemetic shot did the trick. He still seemed wiped out, but at least the vomiting and diarrhea had stopped. I unloaded the few things I brought back from Lake Geneva and crashed into bed. I let Baron sleep with me, but we were both so tired from the past few days, I don’t think either of us moved all night long.

I set my alarm clock to wake me as soon as Dr. Stewart’s office opened on Saturday. Unfortunately, she still had to analyze the test results, so she called me back about an hour later. Baron’s blood counts were normal. Though his white blood cells were slightly high, she thought it was a normal reaction to what he had been going through. He was a little dehydrated, but again not enough that she was concerned. His ALT liver test was slightly elevated, but she explained it was probably a result from having diarrhea. None of the lab results showed any concerns and since his energy was starting to come back, he wasn’t vomiting or having diarrhea anymore, and he was starting to act like himself, Dr. Stewart didn’t think I needed to bring him back in for further examination – unless his symptoms returned. I could reintroduce his usual food in another day, but he needed to stay away from other dogs for a few more days.

Shawn seemed to be better too. He slept soundly all night – over 13 hours total! His cough returned a little when he woke up, but significantly better than the night before.

Raj slept in at the hotel and then packed everything up to come home. I told him to enjoy the time with his cousins, but I think he had had enough excitement, too.

It was nice to be home and have everybody on the mend.

We spent the rest of the weekend moving some furniture around and working on the office/guest room. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but we made a good dent. It’s not quite what either of us had planned to do this weekend, but the whole Lake Geneva experience wasn’t working out for us very well either! Besides, the cousins will do the same trip next year. We’ll try it again then and keep our fingers crossed for better luck.

Victory and +

We spent the day cheering the Cubs on to victory against the St. Louis Cardinals (4-2) at Wrigley Field. Shawn’s becoming a mini-expert on going to baseball games, though I think one of his favorite parts of the whole experience is the food! He dined on a single hot dog from the first inning through the middle of the 5th! I’m not sure if he was savoring each bite or distracted by the game (not likely)! When he finally finished, he looked up at me with a gigantic grin and announced, “Mom! I finished my hot dog!” (Finally!) He proudly, yet quietly, sang along to Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the seventh inning stretch, but he slowly started to fade after that. Raj and I decided that it was time to go when the teams were tied in the ninth inning, but was we walked to our shuttle bus, we could hear the excitement from the stadium as the Cubs hit two more runs. Shawn finally got to attend his first Cubs victory! Pooped from the excitement, he slept on the way home.

 

 

When we got back, I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few things while Raj and Shawn played at home. On a hunch, I picked up a pregnancy test…

When I returned, Raj offered to help put the groceries away, so I handed him the bag with the pregnancy test box in it. He saw it immediately and claimed, “I knew it!” I had to wait a little while before I was ready to take the test, though my adrenalin was going crazy. Raj and Shawn monitored a timer set for three minutes and when it was time, Raj wanted to be the first to check the digital results:

 

 

PREGNANT

 

 

Tears of joy robbed me of words. We stood in the bathroom together - I'm not sure if we were hugging or trying to hold each other up!  The reality of having our second baby consumed us.

 

 

Meanwhile, Shawn continued playing in the living room. We agreed that we needed to wait before telling him the exciting news to limit the potential of leaking our secret before its time. I wanted to tell everyone immediately, but Raj’s sensibility calmed me down. We compromised. Instead of waiting for the entire first trimester to go by, we’ll wait until our doctor’s confirmation. I’m making an appointment as soon as the office opens in the morning!

 

 

After about four months of not preventing pregnancy, I am entirely grateful that we haven’t had the stresses of trying to get pregnant that seem to be increasingly common among the people I know. Even watching family and friends go through similar situations, I cannot imagine the anxiety that accompanies months or even years of trying and waiting, which I’m sure doesn’t help the process get any easier! Raj and I reminded each other how fortunate we have been, both with our pregnancy with Shawn and now. It all just makes us more emotional!

 

 

Congratulations to us!

Shawn’s Mundan

Today was definitely a new experience for me. I've attended similar ceremonies for friends and family, but each one is different and unique, which makes it special. It's always different being an observer than actually participating, too.

We set up an alter in the corner of our living room with plenty of seating for our guests in chairs, on the couches, and on the ground. We learned that it was very important for us to face West during the ceremony. Our pundit was wonderful at explaining the ceremony step by step as he conducted the rituals.

We began with a blessing and prayers to the Hindu Gods. The pundit gave us dots of red powder, Tika, between our eyebrows (Shawn chose not to have one) and tied sacred red threads, called Mauli, around our wrists. (Raj and Shawn wore theirs on their right hands, while I wore mine on my left.) Their significance was warding off evil and attracting good fortune. By placing them around a coconut, we offered water, flowers, and rice to the gods, inviting them to be a part of our special day.

One part that sticks out in my memory is how the pundit described the utmost importance of a child’s parents, holding them higher than all else. He said that parents are a child’s first teachers. Without parents, the child cannot learn properly and therefore does not have knowledge. Without knowledge, the child has no understanding. Without knowledge and understanding, the child cannot know God. Therefore, parents and teachers are the supreme powers in a child’s life.

The second part of the ceremony included actually shaving Shawn’s hair. Before we began, we tied red threads around three sections of his hair, which we then cut with scissors. Then, Kate Yglesias La Casse (who was my hair dresser for years and did my hair for our wedding) did an amazing job wielding her clippers quickly and carefully so that Shawn barely flinched while locks of his hair fell all around. He did a marvelous job while the clippers were buzzing around his head. It helped tremendously that Kate was able to cut his hair pretty quickly. Regardless, he sat very still and didn't fidget. (I was impressed.) We collected his hair along with some of the articles from the puja and were told to save them. When we go to India, we are supposed to offer it to the sacred Ganges River.

While Kate was shaving his head, she uncovered a cut from a fall a few days ago. (Shawn was being silly while in the bathroom and fell off the toilet!) I knew he bumped his head when he fell, but I didn’t realize that it had left such a gash on poor Shawn’s head! Until now, it had been completely covered by hair! At first glance, people thought that the cut was from the Mundan itself, but luckily, it was well into the healing process already.

Then, Shawn had to get cleaned up and changed into fresh clothes. This symbolized starting completely clean. The pundit conducted more prayers and blessings for ‘the new’ Shawn. All the children gathered around a small fire, or Havan, to make more offerings before concluding the Mundan ceremony. We took Prasad, or fruit (apples and bananas) that had been blessed by the Gods, and Raj and I led Shawn to show respect to our loved ones by touching their feet. Afterwards, we served lunch and socialized with our friends and family.

When I showed Shawn a mirror and he saw his bald reflection, he had a big smile – I was relieved that he liked it. The three of us kept joking, "Where'd your hair go?" Luckily, he has a nicely shaped head, so the bald look worked for him! (We also joked that he's more aerodynamic and he'd be lightening fast!) So, Shaggy Shawn is a Q-ball now! He looks like a completely different person!

I was convinced that he was going to look like an over-grown infant with his newly shaven head; in reality, he looks like he's suddenly become a big boy. He looks much older and more mature now than he did with his wispy locks. I already miss his curls, but I know that hair grows back. Besides, now it's fun to rub our hands across his stubbly head!

At the end of the big day, Raj and I gave Shawn a gift to celebrate his milestone. During the ceremony, we had it nearby in case Shawn needed a distraction while his hair was being shaved. Since we didn’t need it then, we were able to share it with him when everyone went home. He opened a LeapPad Explorer and was very excited to have something like our computer and iPad for himself, especially since it had a camera function on it!

I love that Shawn took an active role in his Mundan ritual. He couldn’t have done that when he was younger. He looked like a little prince and took it all very seriously. For many reasons, including the fact that he didn’t have much hair when he was just a year old, I’m glad we waited until now to have his Mundan.

Yet another milestone to remind me that my little baby is growing up...

That's the part I'm having trouble with!

Happy Mundan, son.

We are very proud of you and love you always and forever.

दैव-दैत्यों पुत्र प्रसन्न

हम बहुत गर्व है तो आप और आप हमेशा प्रेम और सदैव

 

From http://www.indianhindunames.com/mundan-chadakarana-first-hair-removal.htm

“The next important ceremony after Annaprasana and Namakarana in a Hindu child’s life is the Mundan or Chadakarana when the baby has his first hair cut. The Mundan ceremony can be done in the 1st year, 3rd year, or 5th year of age, but it is normally done before the completion of three years of age of the boy.

Please note that Mundan as a ceremony is prescribed only for boy babies, but today, with the changing times, it has become a practice to have the ceremony done for girl children, too.

A proper Mundan ceremony involves three rituals of about an hour’s duration – the boy’s parents do a “Ganesh Puja” (worship of the Hindu Go Ganapati or Ganesh); a barber who shaves the child receives some honour; and a “Havan” (a purifying ritual with a fire ceremony) with devotional prayers known as the Ayushya Home mantra and Arati concludes the ceremony. This is followed by a feast and the giving of presents, which form the social aspect of the Mundan as a samskar.

Shaving the head is termed as “Ayushkarma” in Sanskrit. It means enhancing the longevity or the life span of the child. (“Ayuh” in Ayurveda also means this.) This child’s hair at the time of birth is not strong and the Mundan ceremony ensures that hair roots are strengthened and strong hair is formed. The shaved head receives Vitamin D from exposure from the sun and this has its own medicinal benefits...”

From http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-traditions/mundan.html

“There is a significant reason as to why the head is shaved in such an elaborate ritualistic way. According to the Hindu beliefs, the hair present at birth is supposed to represent unwanted traits from the past lives. In order to make sure that the child has no undesirable qualities of the past birth in this life, the hair is shaved off to ensure a new beginning and a fresh start. Medically, it is said that shaving off the hair stimulates the cells and improves blood circulation to the brain. Some also believe that this gives the child a long life.”

Diwali

Shawn and I started our morning with the last swimming class of this session.  He had a hard time waking up this morning, so I started him easy with a 3-float belt to give him a chance to wake up and enjoy the fun of swimming before making him work too hard.  He was hesitant to get in the water, but once he did and realized he was buoyant, he grinned happily and kicked his feet vigorously to maneuver himself around our lane in the pool.  After a while, I took off the belt to give him a chance to practice more on his own.  He slowed down a bit, but still showed that he could kick and splash with the best of them!  Ms. Brittany gave us a new trick to work on getting Shawn to lift his arms up and out of the water – giving high fives!  He loves high fives, so it worked pretty well to get his arms moving more.  (Though, I think it would work even better if he was working with his favorite, Ms. Becca!)

After class, we played a little while with Tanner and his mom, Kathy, before warming up in the showers.  I think that’s Shawn’s favorite part of the whole swimming lesson!  Once we wrestle his wet swimming shirt and trunks off, he nestles his head onto my shoulder like a newborn and just relaxes as the warm water massages his back.  We cuddle for a little while under the shower and when I ask if he’s all done, he asks for more!  Eventually, we get back to our locker to change into dry clothes.  Shawn loves taking responsibility for throwing away his swimming diaper while I get dressed.  We’ve also started a routine of drying our suits in a centrifuge-style machine.  (When the lid is pressed closed, it spins the water out of the suits.)  As we hold it closed together, we count to ten in English, Spanish, German, or French – Shawn’s choice.  It usually takes a few tries before our suits are reasonably dry, so we get to practice our multi-lingual counting three or four times.  Love it!

After class, we picked up a Freecycled double stroller for a Mothers & More friend of ours.  I also printed two wedding pictures in preparation for an anniversary gift to Raj on Friday.  (I wish I had done this earlier, so I could’ve gotten higher quality prints, but they’ll work for now.  Maybe I can get better prints made and swap them out later.)  When we got home, Raj gave Shawn a real bath before naptime, so he’d be fresh for our Puri Family Diwali party this evening.  Meanwhile, I went to The Great Frame-Up to have our wedding pictures matted and framed.  The choices and combinations were a bit overwhelming, but the woman helping me was very patient.  I think the final products will look really nice.  I’m excited to put them on display!  (Stay tuned!)

In the evening, we went to Kusum Auntie and Gulshan Uncle’s house for Diwali.  (The actual date isn’t until Wednesday, but Saturdays are much easier for large family parties.)  We gathered in the basement for a ceremony of readings and rituals.  (Raj gave cousin Amit the camera, so there's almost a full memory card of pictures!)  The children rang bells and read (or had help reading) verses about the triumph of good over evil.  Then, the food began!  The appetizers alone were enough for a full meal, but of course, there was more!  Shawn was content with the fruit platter from the appetizers, but I was able to sneak in a few bites of dinner, too.  Kusum Auntie distributed gifts to each child (Shawn got a black and white Nike suit) and then set up a row of folding tables for them to work on a project.  The project involved painting a wooden picture frame (Shawn’s was a car) with a palate of paints, a very small paintbrush, a glitter pen, and then decorating it with stickers.  I helped Shawn hold the paints and tried to avoid getting anything on his nice clothes, but I wasn’t completely successful.  Luckily, he listened pretty well as I carried him upstairs to the bathroom sink not to touch anything with his paint splotched hands.  We cleaned off our hands pretty easily, but his shirt will need more help at home or at a dry cleaners.  Oh, well!  He had fun working on his project and that was the whole idea.  (I just wish I had known ahead of time, so I could’ve changed him into a spare outfit I keep in the car!)  The rest of the night, Shawn played with toys and (sometimes) cousins, Raj played poker, and I switched between watching the kids and chatting with the aunts and female cousins who weren’t playing cards. 

I was sure Shawn was going to fall asleep on the way home, but when he didn’t, I was glad I was able to change him into pajamas and brush his teeth before going to bed.  He buried himself under his blankets and listened to a few classic poems from Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne before goodnight kisses and falling asleep. 

[adapted from In the Dark]

We’ll play a lot tomorrow…

We’ll think a lot tomorrow…

We’ll laugh…

a lot…

tomorrow…

Goodnight.

Nibbles and More!

One of the parent groups that I’m a member of posted an outing to Nibbles Play and Café .  Not many people showed up, but it was our first outing sponsored by them, so we wouldn’t have known anyone anyway.  Regardless, it was a lot of fun!  It turns out that the cafe is about 7 minutes from Raj's Dad's house... I'm still trying decide if that's a good thing or not... I'm a bit torn...

It's not very big, but big enough.  We stayed for about 2 hours.  When we were getting ready to leave, Shawn didn't show that he was losing interest or that he was really all that ready to go yet!  (Just keep 'em wanting more, right?!)  The majority of the place was a cafe with pretty good menu of soups, salads, sandwiches, coffees/teas, and baked treats, but it also had a super kid friendly menu, too (like goldfish crackers by the scoop).  At the counter, there was a sign similar to what was posted on the website about unattended children being given lots of free cake and coffee, but this sign included that there would be a puppy involved, too!

Beyond the dining tables were areas sectioned off with waist-high walls.  (The website stated about how green and environmentally responsible the materials they chose were:  bamboo floors, cork walls...)  Each section had a different theme, including a train table, a pretend zone that was set up as a vet's office (with costumes of various animals as well as scrubs, depending on the character you pretended to be while visiting in the vet's clinic), a library with books that were associated with the theme from the pretend zone (it also had some random toys like dinosaurs and Legos), a construction zone (with not only toy hammers, etc., but shoots and ramps that velcro-ed to the wall), a mirror with various funny eyes and mouths to try on, and a belly-baby and crawlers only zone.  Parents could sip their lattes at the table and still see their kids in the different play areas, if they didn't want to actually go play, too.  Shawn was having so much fun in the different play areas that I don't think he noticed whether we were there with him, at the table, or back in the car!  (Hard to believe, I know!) 

Though I didn't check them out myself, I heard that they even have mini-toilets and sinks for the little kids.  One of the moms from the parent group said that her 3 ½ year old had gone to the bathroom four times in the two hours they were there, just because he thought they were "so cool!"  He didn't want her to go with him to help, because he could manage it by himself - SCORE! 

As we were leaving, a guitarist playing kiddie music was gathering a small crowd and passing out kiddie instruments.  There was also birthday party that was getting started.  (I'm not sure if the guitarist was there on his own or if he was hired for the party, but all of the kiddie-patrons seemed to be dancing and joining in, whether they were invited to the party or not.)

It would be a nice place to meet up with friends that also have kids (up to age 6 or so), so that parents can catch up while the kids play. I saw one mom that was working on Excel graphs & charts on her laptop and flipping through books and notes at her table.  Her kids (~2yo & ~3yo) didn't seem to mind that she was busy - they were pretty well entertained on their own.

We'll definitely go back sometime!

As if the day wasn’t exciting enough already, we were going to have lunch with Dadajee afterwards, but he wasn’t feeling well, so we brought him up some soup instead.  He must have been pretty bad because he was too nervous to let Shawn in the house for fear of spreading his germs.  For the few minutes we were there, he kept a handkerchief over his nose and mouth.  Had he been feeling better, he was going to come with us to Uncle Gulshan and Aunt Kusum’s house for a big Puri Family dinner to welcome Cousin Tony from India.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t feeling well enough to go.

Cousin Tony was only in town on business for a very short time, so we all got together to see him before he left.  The kids played while the adults played poker and/or talked.  It didn’t take very long for Shawn to warm up to all the people and run off to play with the cousins.  As usual, there was more delicious food than we could possibly eat, though I certainly tried my best!  Auntie sent everyone home with containers to enjoy later.  Yum!

I’m full!  I’m exhausted!  I need another weekend!

Happy Birthday, Veer!

Happy Birthday, Veer!

We celebrated Veer’s second birthday today with a party at Gyboree!  He had a train theme for the decorations (“All aboard Veer’s two-two birthday train!”).  Heena ordered the birthday cake from Deerfield’s, the same place we got Shawn’s 3-D airplane cake for his first birthday.  They also had individual cupcakes with Thomas the Train characters decorating the tops for the kids.  Though Shawn didn’t know the two teachers that led the party very well, he still had a good time, especially with the hula hoops, the rocking horse, and the parachute.  It was fun playing with his cousins, Milan, Misha, and Meera, too.  At the end of the party, we brought home a little bucket with a hand painted a train engine.  It was filled with goodies, like funny sunglasses and Thomas stickers.  We were all ready for a nap when we got home!

An Adventure to LegoLand

We got more snow last night, but nothing like a few days ago, so we didn’t get too excited about it.  It won’t get in the way of any of our exciting plans for the day!

We started with a trip to LegoLand.  What a cool place!  I think Raj and I had just as much fun as (if not more than) Shawn!  We were greeted by a giant Lego model of a giraffe spanning the entrance, a huge replica of Albert Einstein’s funny face (with moving eyes!) and two little statues holding toothpaste and a toothbrush right inside the door.  We were hardly inside the building and we’re already very impressed.  It just got better from there…

There was a mock-up of downtown Chicago with flickering campfires on the beach, working lights and sirens at the fire department, and a light timer set up to show how the city changes in daylight and nighttime.  It was complete with Buckingham Fountain, Hancock Tower, Navy Pier, the elevated train, Water Tower Place, and even construction!  (With the amount of detail shown in this display, I wouldn’t be surprised if the model city was to scale.)  As if that wasn’t complicated enough, the Lego artists kicked it up by invading the city with Star Wars characters!  There was a scavenger hunt set up so you could search for specific characters, but we just had fun taking it all in and seeing what we could find on our own.  It was incredible. 

  

When we left the city, we walked right into a Lego Jungle!  There were life size tigers, monkeys, alligators, birds, giant spiders, a few safari guides (the only things that weren’t life size, though Shawn may disagree), and then… Indiana Jones from the Temple of Doom!  Later, we even saw Darth Vador and R2D2!

 

There was a ride through a Dragon Quest where we saw wizards and royalty and, of course, a very large dragon.  We took a very brief “tour” showing how Legos are made accompanied by a mini history of the toy.  Then we watched a 4-D movie featuring Clutch Powers, a Lego character.  Not only did we wear 3-D glasses (Shawn didn’t keep his on, but he liked playing with them), but during the movie you could feel wind blowing when the characters were outside or driving fast and there would be a light mist of water when the characters got rained on, which was the fourth dimension of the movie.  Though the movie was a bit cheesy, it was a pretty cool concept and a fun way for Shawn to experience his first movie. 

After the movie, we went to the Build & Test center where there were buckets of all sorts of Lego pieces to experiment with.  Shawn got a LegoLand hat, in similar fashion of the old Burger King crowns, to give him official Lego Builder status.  After building vehicles, we launched them down ramps to see how fast they could go.  We also played in Duplo Village with giant foam rubber Lego bricks.  Raj and Shawn built towering structures on an earthquake platform to test how long they could withstand the vibrations.  I think Shawn had more fun playing with the buttons and dials that controlled the quakes, but he was still Dad’s helpful assistant.  Finally, after working hard in close proximity to the café, we decided it was time for lunch.  We weren’t overly impressed with the café selections, so we headed out. 

We decided to try Sweet Tomatoes for lunch, but Shawn barely made the five minute drive across a few parking lots before he fell asleep.  Once we got inside, he decided that lunch was worth waking up for.  The enormous buffet was inspiring to our rumbling tummies and the quality of the food was impressive.  We sat a table that was in the path of most people making trips to fill their plates, so Shawn was thrilled to flirt with most of them, as long as they didn’t stop to talk, which made him shy and a little nervous.  We made dozens of trips to the different areas: soups, salads, pastas, pizzas, baked potatoes, desserts, etc.  Empty bellies no longer!

Shawn and I took the rest of the day/evening off.  We had plenty of excitement from the day.  He napped, I did laundry.  Raj went out with some friends to watch the SuperBowl.  Since it was painful that the Packers made it and he wasn’t interested in the Steelers, Raj claimed he was rooting for the Blackeyed Peas, who were performing at the halftime concert.  (Obviously, he wasn’t upset by the Packers enough to keep him away from the game entirely!)  Not interested in the game myself, I had it on in the background while I folded and put clothes away, just so I could catch a few of the famous exclusive commercials.  There were a few funny ones, but not enough to keep me interested in actually sitting down to watch!  (Raj was impressed I had it on at all.)  It’s a good thing we had a so much fun earlier in the day because Raj was a little resentful when the Packers won.  Sorry, honey, but the Blackeyed Peas just couldn’t score any points on the field!