I'm finally posting something! Can you believe it?

I have a good excuse: viruses! Ever since September, it's been one cold after another. If we're lucky, we get two weeks of good health in between. At this moment I'm suffering with a stuffy head, cough, and an ear infection. My voice still sounds raspy -- towards the end of a sentence I'm lucky if I have any voice left! :) Next time I'll try to remember to take that zinc stuff I've heard so many good things about. Zicam, is it called? Whatever it is, it's supposed to shorten the duration and lessen the severity of cold viruses.

So, Saturday, Sunday, and today I spent in bed. When I wasn't sleeping I was reading. Such good stories!! I can't get enough of books. I read two books by Maria von Trapp, the Austrian woman whose life "The Sound of Music" was based on, finished the last novel in the Hornblower series by C.S. Forester, and began a historical book about Napoleon and Josephine. Fascinating stuff!

I'm glad I had those books to keep me company, because being sick is so isolating! I've been missing Shane and the kids. Tomorrow I'm planning to resume babysitting and we're going to the library for storytime and crafts. I'm eager for the busyness of life to resume. I'm sure my poor husband is looking forward to going back to the office again also.

Starting the week after Thanksgiving, I'm getting a membership to a tiny fitness center here in our little village. Tiny though it is, it has all I need: a toy-filled nursery for the kids, workout classes, a few treadmills, stairclimbers and whatnot. The best part is that membership is free if you spend two hours a week supervising the nursery. So that's what I'm going to do. Another benefit (and this is what really pushed me over the edge) is that there are bookholders on the treadmills and stairclimbers! Joy! I can read to my heart's content and not even be aware of the passage of time or of how much my glutes hurt. It's a brilliant plan. I hope I can stick to it. The prospect of my muscles hurting in protest after years of non-use is enough to make me say, forget it, you'll never have the same body as when you were 20; it's too much work! But on the other hand, I've seen what happens after years of a sedentary life: heart disease, stroke, diabetes. Maybe I can't have my 20-year-old body back, but if I can make a few positive changes and live a healthier lifestyle, it's bound to be worth it.

Happy Halloween!

Isaac and Allie enjoyed Trick-or-Treating tonight for an hour and a half! Most houses had lights on in our family-friendly neighborhood. A third of the way through, Allie's bag started dragging on the ground from the weight. Then she wanted me to carry it for her. Gotta go put them to bed. Wish us luck!

Kids in the Pool

We've had hot weather this week in Southcentral Wisconsin. Temps in the high '80's. All three kids, Isaac, Allison, and Brock (read below for his introduction) enjoyed the pool for about 30 minutes today. They were good and worn out for naptime.

The bugs have been terrible around here. The moment you step outside, you get a dozen mosquitoes, grasshoppers, and bees swirling around your head. The spiders must be having a field day with so much to eat. The grasshoppers are the size of my little finger. I can hardly stand to take the kids outside at the moment. I wonder how long it will be until it frosts...a month? Right now our overnight temps are in the 50's. I'm SO ready for Fall! A small number of trees are already showing some color at the very tops. Mmmm... I can almost smell that Fall air already.

We had a cricket on our carpet last night. It was almost funny watching Shane attempt to swat it. If you've ever tried to use a flyswatter on carpet, you'll know what I mean. It wasn't working. He swats, it jumps; he swats, it jumps; etc, for five minutes. Looking back, it was funny, but at the time, I was really squeamish. To me, crickets are worse than spiders. They kinda look like spiders, but they jump unpredictably. That freaks me out.

First Day of School

Here they are....the much anticipated first day of school pics! Allie looks as happy as a clam in her photo with her teacher, Ms. Katie. Isaac's photos show him getting off the school bus. One of the first things he told me was, "I'm tired." He sure looks it. Both kids had a good first day of school. Isaac especially liked riding the bus home with his friends C.J., Megan, Emma, Chloe, and Ethan who are all close neighbors. (You may click on the photos for a larger version.)

Note Allie's haircut: I cut it myself. Good thing her hair is curly, 'cause it ain't perfectly straight across the back. I love the ringlets on both sides of her face! She wasn't too keen on sitting still long enough for a haircut so she sat on Shane's lap facing him. While he distracted her with his charm and wit, I worked as quickly as I dared. I even gave her long layers. Not bad, eh? Maybe I should look into Cosmetology as a profession when I return to the work force in a couple of years... I would think that cutting an adult's hair would be way easier and less frustrating.

It sure does feel good to have the kids in school, although it's strange having Isaac gone all day ('til 3:30pm). The last couple of weeks before school, they drove me nuts with their fighting and rough-housing. They really needed to be out of the house and away from me, home, and each other and into a more structured environment. The kids are growing and learning so much and so excited about school that it makes my heart well up in my chest. Gosh, I'm proud of them.

Oh, I forgot to mention... Some of my friends asked me if I cried on Isaac's first day of kindergarten. In case you were wondering, I didn't. I knew I wouldn't because I had such a strong feeling that he was ready. What's more, he knew he was ready and was looking forward to the adventure. It just "felt right." Like when I got married, I wasn't nervous because it just felt right. There's something so beautful about a rite of passage when you're ready for it. What a blessing!! (Besides, I already cried last semester when Isaac rode the bus for the first time to Early Childhood.) Still, it is strange to think about your kindergartner eating lunch without you, playing without you, finding his way to bus number 5 without you. I remind myself that there are teachers and helpers everywhere in his school and they're especially looking out for the kindergartners.