Signs of Halloween

1. A gigantic orange spider spinning a web in your backyard. This web was huge! It spanned two trees that are at least five feet apart if not more! With the evening sun backlighting it, the spider looked like it was glowing orange!

2. Kids are being forced to pose with pumpkins in the pumpkin patch for a "great fall picture" (my kids are especially subjected to this.)

3. A terrified infant is stuffed into a fake pumpkin.

(and here is Luke in the fake pumpkin three years ago)

These kids don't think the pumpkin pot is nearly as cute as I think it is.

4.  FLETCHER'S!!! I prefer to eat them at the state fair, but due to all our illnesses the past weeks, we didn't get to go. However, we lucked out because there was A FLETCHER'S BOOTH AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH!!!

Luke scarfed this one down and asked for another. Aww! I'm a sucker for a corny dog.



5. Babies in ridiculous costumes.

Don't ask about the fork. It was making him smile, okay??

This was Luke's costume when he was a baby and we (Luke & I) thought it would be fun to dress Will in it.

Will did not think it would be fun (remember the fork?)

I think the part he hated most was that his feet were trapped in it. He couldn't move like he normally does, so he was pretty much stuck wherever I put him.

Until he fell over--see that little patch of white flowers/weeds next to him up there??

See them now?? Fell over. Poor guy.

Gee, there is just something about pictures of kids showing raw emotion that I think is so cute! Bad mommy--taking a picture of the baby crying. That is -10 mommy points.  Don't worry, I snapped it quick and comforted him. He was over it in a snap (pun intended)! See??

And of course, how could I leave this out of my post??

Luke in the pea costume!

6.  Pumpkins, pumpkins, and pun'kins.

The tractor in this picture makes it look like we were really out on the pumpkin farm.

Will loved riding in the wagon.

A bad shot because his head is cut off but he was trying to lift the pumpkin and making this guttural, primal sound that made me laugh so hard I lost focus on the camera.

Why so many shots of Will and none of Luke? Well, Luke did his time and posed for a few obligatory shots before running off to play. Will, unfortunately, did not have that option.

Ill Will

I signed up for my frequent flier miles last night. "Where?" you ask. Cook's ER. I made my fourth trip there in the last 7 days. The first three were related to Luke's chin (initial injury, re-injury on day three in which he popped three of the seven sutures, and suture removal). Last night I had to take Will for dehydration after he caught rotovirus and spent the last 36 hours with vomiting/diarrhea. Fun, fun.

Putting the IV in was like wrestling an alligator. Will has a signature flight move. When he wants to get away, he starts the twist and roll. He will fling himself to the floor in desperation to get away. It took three male nurses/EMT's to hold him down for his IV. Poor baby! Then the sucker only lasted half an hour! I kept having to hide it under a blanket so that Will would leave it alone. Then, all of the sudden, he hooked his right toe under a strategic piece of tape and it was all over.

So, I started this post on Friday. Before I could finish it, all of us were suffering the stomach bug. Yech! We had to miss a wedding of a dear college friend of mine, and instead I spent all weekend disinfecting and doling out meds, saltines, pedialyte, and 7Up.

I think we are all over it now--finally. Will had it the worst, and the longest. He wins the award for the most times throwing up. Luke wins for sweetest sickie as he was super sweet all weekend even though he felt like poo. Gene and I are tied for most dramatic as I had moments where I couldn't even stand up because the nausea was so bad I would black out when upright, and he spent most of Saturday moaning and groaning between the bed and the couch.

We all took care of each other because our worst moments didn't coincide. I knew it was bad to have a sick kid, and worse to have two sick kids. I thought being sick with two sick kids would be worse than being sick with two well kids, but I decided it wasn't. When your kids are well, they expect you to play and be happy, and cook, and be awake. But with sick kids, they just want to lie on the floor/couch and stare at the TV and drink 7Up. And they nap a ton! As long as you are not sicker than them, I think it might be easier.