Indian Summer

To make up for not having my scrapbooking weekend, I'm not ashamed to say I did everything I wanted today. Or I should say, everything I did, I wanted to do. In other words, there was no dusting, vacuuming and Saturday chores. Instead, there was golf, a movie and an awesome campfire.

It was an honest-to-goodness Indian Summer day. Not sure how warm it got, but I'd venture to say in the mid-60s maybe. And sunny! A little breezy, but I was fine.

Hubby and I decided first thing we were going golfing somewhere today. Wherever we could get on. Carter, one day into being a certified I-can-stay-at-home-alone kid, didn't want to go but said he'd be fine at home. We really didn't need any more convincing.

We ended up going to Wisconsin River Country Club by Stevens Point. For not playing since August, I was OK at how it ended up. Though, yes, I had my share of self-imposed "time outs" on the course. I still expect to be par-fect, ya know.

The one challenge of playing this late in the year is that all the leaves are on the ground. So once you veer off the fairway, good luck finding your ball. I think Jim and I each lost about 4 balls today. That's OK. We've got all winter to stock up!

We got done with 18 holes in less than 3 1/2 hours (unheard of) so Carter and I had time to take in a matinee of the new Disney Christmas Carol movie. That was well done. I still think the theme is a big much for little kids to understand, but I enjoy just about any interpretation of the Christmas Carol story -- be it serious or funny, real or animated. So I would recommend it!

When we got home, Jim and the neighbor guys were trying to fix a leaking faucet (the one on the back of the house) which required some sort of new pipe, I think, and also required 3 trips (yes 3) to the hardware store. Of course, they knew it had to get fixed today once they started, or we wouldn't be able to use our water. Kind of important when you've got 3 people using toilets, etc. It's all good now.

This evening, we went next door for a campfire. Had a great time, as always, visiting, B.S.-ing and laughing. Good stuff. You always learn something new. Tonight I learned that the girl staying overnight next door is Carter's "girlfriend." That was news to me. Of course, the mothers are always the last to know, aren't we? We'll be following this story closely, ladies and gentlemen.

Well I better get to bed. I do have to close the windows now. The Indian Summer day turned into a pretty chilly night. I think even with the windows closed, it still qualifies as "good sleeping weather." G'nite!

Certifiable

If anything's a sure sign things are back to normal, it's the Friday night Fish Fry! Just got home from Ponderosa Pines (on Hwy. 73 towards Plainfield), where we enjoyed a superb perch fish fry. I highly recommend it if you are in the area!

So yes, obviously our stomachs are pretty much recovered. Good thing, too. It was a busy day for all of us.

Hubby ventured 100 miles west and slightly north to Whitehall to take some pictures and do a story for work. What a beautiful day for an outdoor roofing project! I stayed in the office but got outside for a run at lunch. It was soooo nice out! I fear these days are numbered.

While we were doing our fun jobs, Carter got certified in the Red Cross Babysitting Course. (Can I say he's "certifiable" like me now?) Although he said it was the longest day ever (9-3), I think the worst part was having to call up the neighbor last night to borrow a doll. Good thing we live in close vicinity of lots of girls! As it turned out, they did provide dolls (even though they told participants to bring one).

On the way home, Daddy and Carter stopped at the store and saw the neighbors. Not one to pass up on a moment to pick on the boy, Daddy yells two checkout lanes over, "Hey Madison, Carter will bring your doll back tonight!" Nice one, Daddy. Carter's face is still red.

See? Totally back to normal!

What Goes Around...

I'm pleased to report that about 3 a.m. Carter ate something and kept it down. About that same time, my stomach started hurting. I was not surprised.

We had already planned to keep Carter home today to recover anyway. That was good. He still had a few other stomach issues until this afternoon. He's all good now.

After my morning cocktail of Pepto on the rocks, I think I'm close to being all good now, too. The one advantage of working at home is that the computer is not too far from the bathroom! That was a bonus today.

The good news is that tomorrow, I will head back to the office and Carter will head to class. There is no school but he is participating in that Red Cross Babysitting Class.

The bad news is that Carter missed out on a movie night at school tonight to mark the end of the first quarter, and I will miss out on my scrapbooking weekend. I had no time to prep and now, no energy. So the boys will be stuck with me and they'll have to cancel whatever top secret plans they may or may not have been making.

Now we just have to keep away from Daddy so he stays healthy. He's got a 200-mile roundtrip road trip tomorrow for work. Frequent stops for bathroom breaks would not be a good thing. Carter and I will just have to keep this to ourselves.

Just a Flu-ke?

I got the dreaded call from Carter at school this morning. "Mom, I'm sick." He said he had a stomach ache and he just couldn't make it through the day. So I told him to sit tight and somebody would be there.

Now our emergency plan is this: Call Grandpa and Grandma Austin. They're retired. They're close by. They could at least get him to our house until we get there.

Unfortunately, they weren't home. What good are "emergency contacts" is they're not around in an emergency?! OK, I'm not seriously mad or anything. They do have a life which does not involve waiting for their kids to call with pseudo-emergencies.

It just happens to suck for hubby and me since we work an hour away. Some days it comes down to a coin flip. Today, I had something I could do on the computer (which did not go well, by the way!), so I headed to Grant Elementary and he hitched a ride home with a co-worker who also lives in Rapids.

Of course, we're paranoid about Swine Flu and all that. But Carter honestly seemed fine within an hour or 2 after we got home. I only had him eat soda crackers at lunch but later, he was like, "I'm good now," so he had something more. About 3:45, up it came. You know, Pop Tarts don't look so hot the second time around. (Neither does whatever else came up later!)

So he really is sick -- not trying to get out of anything -- and we don't know if it's the Rockin' Pneumonia or the Boogie Woogie Flu. I guess we'd take that over the Piggy Wiggy Flu any day.

Carter, obviously, would rather have none of it. Right now he just wants to keep the popsicle down and be able to eat some crackers yet tonight. I for one hope he succeeds!

Family Planning

Carter and I spent a busy evening planning for events later in the week.

On Friday, there is no school again. (I know. These kids have it easy these days.) Actually it's a record-keeping day since the first quarter ends Thursday.

We have Carter signed up to take a day-long Red Cross Babysitting Course Friday. Not that he is going to jump into child care. We just want him to feel prepared and confident about staying home on his own. At some point, he'll outgrow the need for a babysitter but we don't want him (I mean us!) to be nervous about being alone. Anyway, he's got a book to read and a DVD to watch before Friday, so he's been reading and learning a lot already.

I have plans Friday, too. I'm leaving town in the afternoon for a girls' scrapbooking weekend. This wasn't really planned. It was just sort of spontaneous and I'm all for it. I need to keep my mind busy and distracted from some things I don't want to think about these days.

So I spent the better part of this evening trying to organize what pictures I need to use for the second half of my 2008 album. I got the pictures set. Tomorrow and Thursday nights I'll need to figure out what I want to do with each page. I will have 40 or so pages to do to finish the book. So I don't have high hopes. But that would be way awesome to finish those this weekend!

I'm pooped now -- even though I didn't accomplish much yet.

I take that back. I did do something pretty incredible earlier this evening. I sort of had a redneck Fonzie moment in the Wal-Mart parking lot. One of the headlights was out on the Civic. I got out of the car and, much like a jukebox in Big Al's, I hit the light just right to get it to work!

I know what you're thinking. Is there anyone cooler than me?

Enlighten Me

A few minutes ago, before 6 p.m., Carter comments: "Man, it's so dark out it seems like 8 o'clock already." Get used to it, I respond. It'll be this way until March.

Then it sinks in. Yep, it will be like this until March. That bites.

It was strange seeing a full moon rising as the sun was setting on the way home from work. I give it 2 weeks, maybe 3, and it will be dark -- both ways -- on our commute. That really bites!

Of course, the one thing I like about it is that the holiday season is here now. Right? I mean Halloween is over. We've seen snow already. I've made some Christmas cookies, too.

We can talk about it. I'm giving myself -- and you -- permission. So this probably means the next time I go to the store, I'll have to break down and get some eggnog. This also means I need to do some serious gift shopping soon (I do have friends who are mostly done already!) and consider what level of creativity will go into this year's Christmas card.

I'm not thinking about this to get stressed early. I'm thinking about this so maybe I will, for once, do it early! Feel free to be my cyber drill sergeants and keep me on task! I would like a stress-free, shopping-free, plain old cost-FREE December if I could this year. Then I can enjoy it to my heart's content.

Don't freak out. Just because I'm talking about Christmas doesn't mean I'll hang up the lights tomorrow (not until it really is dark at 5 p.m.) or listen to Christmas music. I at least have to wait until the pumpkins go out with the trash!

And they look too good to toss just yet :)

What's Good for the Goose...

I had a revelation this morning during Sunday School. Actually, Carter was in a Sunday School and I was taking a jog by the river. I saw a flock of geese flying south and it suddenly struck me: I know why they fly in a "V" formation -- they must be Vikings fans.

I took it as a sign. A good sign.

We went over to our friends the Jacksons this afternoon to watch the Packers-Vikings game. Yes, they are Packers fans but we look past that when they open their home (with HDTV!) and their hearts to us friendless Vikings fans.

Seriously, I give them credit for tolerating us and feeding us. Who knew Packer fans could be so nice? (OK, no more jabs. They are all feeling bad enough.) And we honestly have nothing to gloat about. Once again we get a commanding lead and almost blow it. Then somehow pull out a Victory in the end.

I guess those geese were onto something after all. Too bad they'll be in warmer climes by the next time we play again in 2 weeks. I guess I'll have to cook up another turkey. That wishbone could be considered at V, couldn't it?