Halloween and more...

Okay, so it's been a while since my last post. Things around here have been crazy as usual. It seems that just when I think I have a handle on my life, something else comes my way that I'm not always ready for.
The back is still an issue. My doctor has me going to physical therapy 3 times a week. I'm not entirely sure that I really want to go back. I went on Thursday, and on Friday night I felt so sore. I couldn't figure out what was going on. So when I got home I looked in the mirror. My lower back and left hip have large bruises. Who knew? I wasn't expecting that. Hopefully they'll be more gentle when I return on Monday. I'm really trying to be a trooper, but some days it's not as easy as others.
Justin is done with piano for now. He has been getting a lot more homework that he wants, so we've had to modify his schedule a bit. He will take at least November and December off, and then we'll see how he's doing come January. He seems to be enjoying the break so far.
Trevor is Trevor. What can I say? The boy is his own person. He likes to wax philisophical with a myriad of subjects. His latest has been how he's going to make movies with dinosaurs (pronounced dinoswars by Trev), and all the battles that they'll face. He's going to star in it, and so am I. The dinosaurs are going to chase us and try to eat us. (FYI- I'll survive because he'll protect me. I also get to move into his mansion when he's rich.)
Natalie gets to be VIP at preschool this week. She thinks it will be so neat. She can hardly wait. She keeps telling me that she wants to take crackers and brownies to share with everyone in her class (3 other kids). I told her I'll have to see how she behaves. She has been feeling a little sick all weekend. She caught a cough from Drew, but she decided to jump on the trampoline yesterday afternoon. She started caughing and then she threw up. It was very dramatic, and she needed lots of attention. She's been fine today, but she has wanted me to hold her. I have had such a hard time holding her because she wants to sit on my left leg, and I just can't let her do that because it hurts too much. So now she will sit thisclose to me and eventually end up almost underneath me. I have been trying to show her extra attention this weekend, so hopefully she'll feel better soon.
Drew Dog has had a cough for almost 2 weeks. Last night while in his bed he coughed and coughed and coughed until he threw up. It was everywhere. Kent got him out of bed, cleaned up and brought him to me. He hasn't coughed since last night, so the gunk got out of his lungs. All day today, though, he has been really sleepy and quiet- which, as you know, is quite unlike him. Tonight he went to bed without a problem, but he's a little feverish. I hope he sleeps realliy well tonight and wakes up feeling better in the morning. He's my baby, so I can't stand for him to feel sick or sad.
Kent is still busy with work. He's got a big test coming up with Cisco. He studies all the time, and I can't wait until he passes it so that he can have some free time. I would love for him to be able to get back to working in the garage on his projects. He seems a lot happier when he has accomplished one of those tasks. He makes every effort to teach the kids a good work ethic, and then how to have fun afterwards. The boys aren't digging the learning of a good work ethic so much, but they love to have fun. This will be an ongoing lesson for many years, so I'm glad we have some time.
I have all my usual stuff. I have had workshops, taught classes, worked on home decor projects with my friends, visited with family and friends, gone to my doctors way too many times, gone shopping, cooked, cleaned, played, carpooled, been a taxi service and still had many other things going on... So things are pretty much status quo for me. I keep hearing that it's not always like this, but for now, I'm going to try to enjoy the business of being a wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend and try to make life easier for those around me.
Okay... on to other stuff. On Halloween Justin and Trevor thought I was too slow, so they went with my mom and 2 friends and hit all the houses that they could. I think they had a lot of fun. Drew fell asleep within 10 minutes of leaving the house so I took him home to Kent, who was passing out candy, and put Natalie in the stroller. I went with my friends and their kids and had a blast. The pictures below are the kids in their Halloween costumes. Drew was Dracula; Natalie was Cinderella; Trevor was Harry Potter; Justin was a punk rocker. He was determined not to crack a smile for his picture because "punks are tough." (Hopefully this is just a stage that he'll pass through quickly.)