This morning, the stomach bug hit our house. This time, it was Beaner’s turn. Scorch was the one who had it 2 weeks ago- I really don’t understand how germs work in my house.  Unfortunately, I got a minor (I hope) case too- so this will be short and sweet.

Today I’m thankful for:

> Kids that can warn me before they get ill
> Kids that can run fast and get sick in the proper places
> Kids TV on Demand even if it does mean 2 straight hours of Dora.
> A husband who was so freaked out over the thought of our 5 year old walking himself into school (mind you, I would have walked him to the front door), that he came home from work to take Scorch in himself.
>Scorch’s teacher who was kind enough to walk him to the car after school so I didn’t have to bring myself or my germy 3 year old into school to get him.
> Toast & flat soda. Amen.

What are you feeling thankful for today?

I tried to post last night, I swear. But the lure of the candy and my comfy warm couch was just too much to resist.

We had a great Halloween! No one had to wear a snow suit (always a real possibility), the kiddos got good candy (not an Almond Joy in sight!) and my little buggers remembered to actually say Trick or Treat and Thank You at all the homes we hit.

Scorch loved being a Solider although exactly what kind of solider he was was up for debate.  The Bean was the cutest Lady Bug in town even though she only kept on her wings 50% of the time.  We trick or treated with some of our oldest friends and the kids were so exciting they were shaking.

I’m calling Halloween 2011 a complete success- hope you can say the same!

There are fat ton of things I don’t like about coming home from vacation. The laundry.  Going through all my work emails. Grocery shopping because there isn’t a blessed things to eat in the house. Dealing with my very needy cats who just want to snuggle at 2 am right on your chest. Getting the sand out of my car.

But the thing I dislike the most is how much I miss my family when we get home.

While we’re on vacation, there is no schedule and no stress about bills to pay or calls to return. It’s just fun- you sleep until the kids wake you up, you spend your day at the beach, the kids nap for 2 hours, then you go back to the beach, eat ice cream for dinner and let the kids stay up much, much later then is smart.  And you have a wonderful time doing so!  You have no choice but to spend almost all your waking hours together and magically everyone gets along. The kids are at their best and there are no time outs (well…almost none) or fits thrown.

And them…bam! It’s over and you’re back to the hustle and bustle of real life. Schedules and bedtimes and to-do lists that don’t include  “dig for sea shells” or “sleep late” on them.   Thankfully the life we had to return to is a good one, but it still doesn’t mean I don’t miss the magic of the beach.

Good thing I still have 400+ photos to go through to remind me of the fun we had. 😉

As my day marches along, I keep a little catalog of what to blog about during the day in my head.  Something funny the Bean said (her response after I told her “Yes, dear.” was to tell me “I not a deer, I a persons.”) or a question I have about Scorch (is 5 years old an appropriate age to watch some of the Y-7 cartoons like The Avengers?), a personal victory or just a universally funny parenting story.

But today I can’t get this story about of my head.  A 24-year old police officer was killed in the line of duty not to far from where I live.  He was a married father of an 18 month old.  That in and of itself is horrific.  Then I read how his pregnant wife, upon hearing the news, went into labor and had their baby.  She had her precious baby knowing all the while that her husband was dead.  Right there? That’s the stuff nightmares are made of.

So my amusing stories are going to have to wait a day or two because I can’t get the Wyman family out of my head today.  If you’re the praying time, please send some their way.

The winters up here are long and dreary- full of white, dingy browns and grey.  It can be beautiful in its own way, but it’s so dull to look at day in and day out.

Spring was also a little slow to start up here- full of rain, cold weather and grey skies.  Then- BAM- summer hit last week and suddenly its all sunshine and warm temps!

There is so much I love about summer- the BBQs, the corn on the cob & the watermelon, the late nights on the deck watching the sun go down and the last minute ice cream runs. But my most favorite thing is the return of color!

The blues of the pool and the sky.  The green grass.  The pink and purple sunsets.  The hot, yellow sunshine.  The orange umbrella.  The kiddos tan skin (despite, yes, twice daily application of sunscreen) and the emergence of their blond hair.  I love it all and I’m so glad to have color back in my life again!