Back Down to Earth

I spent alot of time bitching about the enforced "vacation" Mike and I had to take when Donovan's daycare closed for 2 weeks. I still think it was pretty thoughtless and not really supportive of those parents who work full time.

That being said, today was the very, VERY last day of his break. Tomorrow (Monday) Donovan is back at daycare, Mike is at work for a solid week and I'm back in the saddle as well. And I'm sad--Mike and I both had a full week off with the boy and it was so lovely. Donovan is a really fun, goofy kid and it was nice hanging out with him. It was also nice recalibrating myself to his schedule. Today really brought that part of it home for me. We ended up spending over an hour at our local playground. The playground itself gets an A- for functionality but a D+ for aesthetics. It's all sturdy and safe and you can see where diligent people have scrubbed away various instances of offensive graffiti, but it still looks like the Playground on the Wrong Side of the Tracks. Not that Donny cared--he played all over, all afternoon. And it was great to be there playing with him. Here are some pics from his frolic:
I should mention, too, that the day was just heartbreakingly fall-like and lovely. These photos don't do the cinematography justice but this is a view from the playground:

Tonight Mike and Donny and I ended up out at the Waterfront. Mike was laptop shopping but, as it was Sunday, Best Buy was on short hours. He ended up just looking while Donny and I shopped at Michaels Crafts. That Martha Stewart has some crazy good Halloween stuff so I had a little shopping spree. Then we looked at the shelter kitties in Petco. Then we ate dinner at Red Robin before going grocery shopping. Have you ever been in a Red Robin? It's that strange set up where sensory overload is supposed to be equated with FUN. Its also cut up into small seating areas but its basically an airplane hanger where you can get a burger. By the time we got there Donovan was slaphappy and being very loud, yelling "UH OH!" over and over, louder and louder. By about his third, "UH OH!" we heard an answer from across the room. The other kid was so far away we could'nt see him but he and Donovan did this Call and Response thing for a good long while. At least in a place like that your kid can yell and you don't stick out like a sore thumb...