another update on all manner of things

 A general update.  Because I am sick and really don't have much brain power for doing much serious thinking. And because a few of you might be interested. 

It's 10:43 am, on a regular Monday school/work day. My husband is still in bed, and I'm not sure why.  When I woke and saw daylight peeking through the trees outside the window, I tried to ask him if he had missed the alarm--and he muttered something unintelligible and rolled over.  I don't know if he is sick too, or working from home or what.  It would not really matter except that the house was about 53 degrees when I got up; just a while ago the sun hit the back of the house for a good 15 minutes, so got warmer.  It's now up to a whopping 57 degrees in here!  Whoo-hoo!  It's so cold in here because DH and I went to bed early, both being completely wiped out, and the house was warm enough we did not think we needed a fire.   But this morning I could not find the ash bucket, so could not start cleaning out the fireplace for this morning's fire.  I have a feeling DH was so tired last night he left it outside somewhere.  I'm not about to go hunting for it, sick, in my pjs.  So I am bundled up--even wearing a knitted hat--and waiting for him to get up.  He's awake now, but has not spoken to anyone and is clearly still wanting to be in bed, and I really try not to be his mother, so I'm just chosing instead to be content.  It's helpful to have just finished my second cup of hot tea--at this temp. you have to drink it quickly!  And when the sun hit the house a little while ago it was shining on me and Smiley and Happy playing in the floor behind me, which felt soooooo gooood!   And I have peaceful music playing, and my children are all content. . . and I just think about how we were just reading Little House stories about it being 40 degrees below 0--that's 100 degrees colder than our coldest weather here on the Bay!!!--and how they would have thought their cabins so warm and toasty if they were 57 degrees.

In case you are wondering, we do have a small heater, but it is currently under the house. We bring it out for emergencies. ; )  Although if I went out--sick, in my pj's--to get it and plugged it in, that would surely get DH out of bed!  He hates "wasting" electricity with the heater.  ; )  But instead I'm just hoping that since it is almost 11 am that he is going to be getting up any moment now. . . .

In case you are wondering, we are perfectly warm and cozy in our beds.  I woke up when I heard Smiley coming--the pitter patter of his feet coming to by bed is my alarm clock, and this morning he and I cuddled in bed for a while, but finally had to brace the cold and get up. Because toys and tea and blogs can't wait. ; )

Happy had this cold first, starting on Friday.  Then I got it yesterday, and feel even worse today (sore throat, runny nose, aches and low fever).  Smiley got it today too, and his nose is running like a faucet this morning.  Sunny slept until after 10, and then came out to read in our bed.  She seems fine, but complained she felt like she was getting "eye sick," which we think is her way of describing migraines, which she has gotten every now and then since she was a toddler.  I wonder if she is just feeling this crud coming on, though.  Merry is still asleep in bed.

[Ah ha!  he's up at 11:02!  of course its another hour before the fireplace will be cleaned out and the fire laid and lit and burning hot enough to warm up the firebox and start the blower that really makes the house toasty. I think I'll be out doing errands before then!]

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Today is the deadline for dropping off Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, and I have two packages I need to send, so I can't just stay here at home in my pjs all day. Again. (yes, I did yesterday, even with my FIL here again for the weekend!  But I was up all day taking care of people, cooking, overseeing the decorating and filling of the shoeboxes, etc.  But doing it all in my pj's was a compromise.   So I'd better get into the shower (so warm when you get under!  so cold when you are drying off!  why i procrastinated this morning. . . ).

But I don't have to worry about breakfast for the family this morning because last night right before bed two little pixies showed up at our door bearing a  huge pumpkin pie.  My dear Becky swung by with it--left over from the big family gathering they had just had.  : )  And another blessing yesterday was that my wonderful school liason Terry gifted us with three bags of goodies for the shoeboxes, and it was just the right amount that combined with what little I had stocked up it perfectly filled the shoeboxes and I did not have to make a run to Target for more. 

And now my Dear Husband is cleaning out the fireplace.  I'm feeling the love!

; )

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One of the boxes I need to get to send today is the "Camilla" boots.  The weekend my in-laws were both here it was rainy and I was ready to pull them out and wear them, but when I put them on before church and started racing around (instead of the careful steps I had been taking previously so not to marr the bottoms and invalidate a return) I realized they felt a little snug on both feet, so that was that.  I am returning them, and hope all goes well with the refund. 

I also spent this past week looking at boots again online, and realized I was making it too hard on myself by trying to anticipate what other uses these boots might serve (Dawn is laughing, "Duh!") and went back and just looked at leather rain boots.  I just need to have a pair of nice waterproof boots, and if they meet other needs (like looking good with my black skirts for church) then that will be the icing on the cake.

I ordered some from Zappos to try again--including some of the same ones I tried before, but in larger sizes. 

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Good thing we are done with our crazy school/life season for this Fall, so we can have a quiet lazy day like this.  It is still a school day, so we will still do math, and watch more of Ken Burns' "Civil War" series, and work on our current book project.  But other than that. . . I don't care.  Esp. with us all being sick.  I have a feeling the two older girls will do a lot of reading today, and since it will be "schooly" books, that's fine by me.

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And for those of you who remember my last, epic update, when my in-laws came weekend before the last, FIL and DH did not mention their plans to me, but just started digging and mucking about the septic "system."  Then FIL came back this past weekend (MIL stayed at home to help care for her mother) and he and DH mucked about some more, and supposedly the septic is repaired, with a new leach line/field.  Well, I'll be.  So I guess one could go through the county requirements, get experts to take soil samples and make reports on environmental impacts near a watershed, hire professionals to design and install a new system that would take months and months for approvals and completetion and end up costing $15-20,000. . . or one could just procrastinate until a FIL grabs a shovel and some plastic pipe and goes at it for a few days.  It is not a little embarassing at how easy that was.  Ok, borderline illegal, but still.  I completely understand why DH sat (ha!) on that project for so long.  It seemed so huge and so expensive and he had no idea where to begin.  So this week I am very thankful for experienced fathers who have been fixing things their whole lives and don't get overwhelmed easily.  And who really want to help. 

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Ok, DH has the fire cheerily popping and sparking--still a while before it really gets going, but now I'll brave the shower.  My last child just stumbled out of bed.  And if DH is not going into work today, then maybe I can do these errands without kids and stop to get my overly-long and now looking crazy bangs cut before Thanksgiving.

See, so much to be thankful for! ; )

Hope you all can say the same this morning.