Robbed

(Figuratively... not literally.)

Tonight caps off a weekend during which our whole family was down and out sick. Liam has been sick for almost 2 weeks now, first with a fever, then a cold and a terrible cough, then a stuffy nose, and a wavering appetite the whole time. Chad came home from work on Friday at noon and hardly got out of bed for 24 hours and when he got out of bed, like ships passing in the night, the kids and I came down with it. Mallory had a high fever, Liam had stomach pain, and I threw up three times.(At least the kids and I got to enjoy Gramma's birthdy on Friday night; Chad...not so much.)

This seems to wrap up how this fall has gone for me in a nutshell. The past couple of months have been one nonstop cycle of being sick, trying to get better, and always feeling like there are not enough hours in the day. So many things I had wanted to do but either didn't have the time to do, or didn't have the energy. We never made it to the apple orchard or the cornfield maze. All the cute Halloween ideas I pinned on Pinterest will have to wait until next year. I had beautiful mums on our front porch that were decimated by wind and I replaced them three times before finally giving up, and in the end I resented the time and energy that I had put into trying to make them work. We did make caramel apples, but they were pretty much a fail - the caramel all slid off within a short amount of time and they didn't come clean off the wax paper, either. Yesterday afternoon, as Chad was on the verge of perking up and I was starting my downward spiral, we decided to get our pumpkins carved. (Good thing we did because had we waited a couple more hours, it probably would not have happened - Liam did not feel well all day today.) I think Mallory's fear of pumpkin guts is more than just a passing phase as she took one look inside the cut pumpkin and burst into tears again this year. She just doesn't like them. Liam made up for that by drawing his own face onto his pumpkin and carving it himself like a big kid. But did I get a picture of the finished product? No - story of my life these last few months. By the time he was done, Mallory and I had both fallen into a feverish sleep on the couch.I'd also meant to get out with Liam to take some pictures of him in his Halloween costume this weekend, which didn't happen, and today the kids missed a Halloween party they'd been invited to - which upset them a little, but not all that much, because neither one of them got out of their pajamas until it was bathtime tonight. I think they both realized they were in no shape to go anywhere.I just noticed today for the first time that Liam had put up his Halloween decorations from last year on the bulletin board in his room. At least someone in this family is on the ball. (He also made that plasticine witch up top.)And so, that's it - fall is pretty much behind us. Starting first thing on Tuesday morning there will be Christmas carols and candy canes everywhere you go, and to be honest, I am good with that. I kind of feel like I missed out on fall this year and I am ready to start fresh with a new season, one that I hope to get a good head start on and enjoy day by day.