Dear Thursday,

A few notes to the universe:

Dear Allergies,
We meet again, old nemesis. Only a few weeks ago and I was blissfully enjoying my contact/makeup wearing life with no thought to itchy eyes, a scratchy throat, or a runny nose. Now that you've come back to my life I haven't worn my contacts (regularly) in weeks and it just doesn't seem worth putting makeup on if I'm just going to rub it all off. I don't like taking medication during pregnancy, but I've given in and started taking some allergy medicine and I'm already feeling much better. So take that! Now, please go away and leave us alone (until next fall... I suppose.)
p.s. Please leave Austin alone. He's so little that I don't feel like I can give him anything. But he's waking up early in the morning because he can't sleep - and I think it's his nose/allergies.


Dear Rain,
I love you. Your cool weather and pit-pat on my window has me breaking out my fall clothes and prepping to put away all the kids summer clothes. At least it would if I wasn't so tempted to just sit and cuddle under a blanket with a good book (while my children play happily on the floor next to me, ha).

Dear Friday,
Today is Thursday. Which means you, Friday, will be here tomorrow. But when you come, you will bring with you the 2nd birthday of my sweet Austin-boy. I'm feeling all sorts of sentimental and mushy and I was wondering if you could hold off for maybe a couple more hours so I can have my baby-Austin for just a little longer before he turns into toddler-Austin?

Dear Pac-Fia,
I'm not sure what to do about you and your relationship with my little Austin-boy. Do I take you away for good when he turns two? Do I let him keep you because he likes you and it saves me time and energy? I'm not sure. Also - I love that you've advanced from being called "fwa". I've only recently realized Austin was trying to say "fier" as in "pacifier", and now that he calls you "pass (big pause) fia" I really love it.

Dear Santa,
I'm sorry, but I've officially decided that we will not be doing the Santa thing at our house. At least not the extent that I feel pressured to incorporate it. After spending about an hour with Lydia crying in her closet because she found out that Paw Patrol (her favorite cartoon) isn't "real" and she won't really be able to drive to their home and visit them - I realized that there's no way I would want to have to have this conversation with her after I, myself, had pushed the "realness" of a character like Santa Claus.

Dear Washing Machine,
When I walked into the Laundry Room to find water all over the floor I was understandably concerned for your well being. Seeing your door seal falling off around the edges made me even more worried. However, after some good youtube tutorial watching I realized I probably didn't need to buy a new door seal (about $100), I could just follow step by step and reinstall your old one. Now you're working great and I'm so happy we are back to our regular routine!

Dear YouTube,
Thank you for the above mentioned assistance in repairing my washing machine. I'm not sure what anyone did without you. (Probably paid a repair person a whole bunch of money to come and "fix" the washer.) You're the best.