the school skipping is starting...

Kathryn has a legitimate reason to stay home today. She blistered her feet up wearing soccer cleats for several games this past weekend. She went to school yesterday and her feet hurt her terribly. A day off from wearing sneakers or shoes will hopefully help them heal.

And Jonathan...he just didn't get up this morning. He says he doesn't feel good. He is lying in bed humming, happy as a bird because the bus has come and gone without him.

Officially, I had only one chocolate chip cookie yesterday. But unofficially, I ate some broken pieces and a half of one on the plate. (does the cookie dough I tasted count? rats.)...there is lots more dough in the 'fridge....if I just leave it in there, the kids will eat it little by little and I'll be safe.

The thing is, I eat health-ily (that should be a word) for the most part, but the little extras add up. I really like the little extras. Some people can just so casually say NO THANK YOU to a cookie, to me...ouch. But I keep telling myself that there is going to be suffering involved, and suffering will not kill me.

Last night for instance, I felt like if I got up with Camille one more time, it would kill me. But it didn't! I gave her a quarter teaspoon of Benedryl before bed for her cold, not knowing if it would knock her out or make her hyper....she was awake less than the night before, but she has this bark-y cough now, which is scary to me. Our kids seem partial to coming down with croup. Mirielle almost died when she was under two years old...Paul and I had gone down to Florida for a few days, he had classes for work and took me along, with baby Joseph. We left the four other kids with my mother. The last night we were gone, she put them to bed, got into her jammies, then heard a horrible sound..it was Mirielle croupy coughing...so Gramma got her up, turned on the kettle to make some steam, took her outside into the night air, then she started turning blue, so she called the ambulance....which just happened to be returning from a call, so was there within minutes....(we lived in the village back then)Mirielle was scarcely breathing....she had an infection which swelled the throat....the opening was smaller than a pencil eraser, the E.R. dr said. Plus she had stuff in her throat, which was clogging the opening....so she was in dire condition.....my brother Billy ended up at our place watching the other kids, and they still remember how much fun that was. We got home the next morning and found out our toddler was in the hospital....then baby Joseph got it too, and he ended up checking in to the hospital the day Mirielle was discharged....the very same day my sister's oldest daughter was hospitalized and diagnosed with cancer....when it rains it pours....(Kate is a miracle though, she is now the high school French teacher, she is married and has a child, and is a BEAUTIFUL girl, inside and out....)

Anyways...I digress.....around here we play a game called, "Off On A Tangent" ....As you can well imagine, I am very good at it.

Today I hope to get caught up on some housework, blah and yuck, then get out into the sunshine. Autumn is gorgeous, but there is that looming threat of the long cold winter....I am not ready for that yet. Oh well, one day at a time...