We're Not Sick!!!

As I write this post, not a single person in this Villines household is sick. Hallelujah, praise be! We have gone a whole week without anyone missing a day of school and we have gone a whole week without so much as calling a doctor's office. It might be a miracle, but I'm knocking on wood just in case.

After surviving my bout of stomach flu last weekend, we all enjoyed the day off on Monday. After Rudy picked Caleb up from my parents, he stopped in Ft. Smith to have lunch and let Caleb play with his mom. When they got home, Caleb wanted to go to the pool. I was determined that I was going to do something with them, so I went along, but didn't brave putting on a swimsuit. When we got there, Rudy cut his heel pretty bad on the gate, so Caleb spent his pool time splashing around by himself.

After about an hour or so, we decided it was dinner time. We came home and changed Caleb into dry clothes, then went to Chili's. I was thinking I wasn't sure if I'd be able to eat a "real meal" but that's what both boys wanted, so I went with it. Once I took that first bite, I inhaled the rest. We had a scratch-off coupon from a previous visit and won a free dessert. I even tackled the dessert plate. I left there feeling so full for the first time in days and it was heavenly.

On Tuesday afternoon, I took Caleb to Gymboree after school and then to Firehouse Subs for dinner. He loves that he gets a plastic firehat when we eat there. I love that he actually eats his food there. It's a win-win. After that, I took Caleb with me to see one of my students who has been begging me to come to one of his football games. We watched Tyler's football scrimmage and I talked to his grandmother while Caleb pretended to play football right beside me. He would crouch down when the big boys did and then run and fall when they snapped the ball. He cried when it was time to go because he wanted to play with them so badly. I decided that I would take advantage of that and try to go get him a Halloween costume. It's pretty obvious that the boy is really into football this year and being a football player was the way to go. We went to the Halloween costume store, but they didn't have what we needed. I came home and got online to shop for a preschool football uniform. Lo and behold, I found just the right one! Caleb is now the proud owner of a Razorback football uniform, complete with a helmet and shoulder pads. I placed the order on Tuesday night and it arrived on Thursday afternoon. I love the Internet and UPS.

On Wednesday, Rudy was supposed to have a softball game, but it got cancelled, so we spent the evening at home. We watched the President address Congress about health care reform and I was so appalled by the behavior of the legislators. Between the cheering and booing and name-calling, I just couldn't believe that our "dignitaries" were behaving like that. It made me sad for our country.

On Thursday, I picked Caleb up from school and Rudy taught some trumpet lessons after school. Shortly after we got home, the doorbell rang and it was the UPS man delivering Caleb's uniform. When I opened the box and took the helmet out, Caleb actually giggled. He couldn't wait to put it all on. I let him put it on and wait for Rudy. He was so excited. Once Rudy finally got home, we ate dinner and had to convince Caleb to take the helmet off so he could eat. After dinner, they went out in the front yard to "be football mans." It was hilarious! Caleb insisted that Rudy wear a helmet too. The only option was for Rudy to wear his bike helmet, which looked absolutely ridiculous, but he did it anyway in the name of being a good Daddy. While we were out there, our neighbors drove by and asked what size shoe Caleb wears, then brought over a pair of cleats for him. You would've thought they had given him pure gold. We had to pry Caleb out of that uniform to get him to go to bed. After school on Friday, I brought Caleb home and Rudy took him to Fayetteville for the high school football game. He loved it of course. While they were gone, I had a girls' night out with my friend Stacy. We went to eat at PF Chang's and then walked around the Promenade for a while. We also went to see The Proposal, which was really funny. It was a good night out - especially considering how sick I was the previous Friday night!

Saturday morning, Rudy woke me up and told me that he and Caleb were going hiking. Huh??? For some reason, Rudy wanted to do something outdoorsy on Saturday and decided that hiking was the thing to do. He took Caleb to Hobbs State Park and they made a 1.5 mile hike, stopping along the way look at moss, pick up daddy-long-legs, touch a toad and check out a lizard. They both loved it! Caleb told me all about the spiders and the toad. He assured me that toads do NOT say "ribbit" and that those spiders were very nice to him. Rudy took some great pictures, but I haven't gotten them uploaded yet.

Saturday afternoon, we hung out at the house and then went to Fayetteville for the band staff dinner. It was fun to visit with everyone. One of the other directors and his wife have a 7 month old daughter and Caleb was fascinated with her. He wanted to hold her, so I held her in his lap. He giggled and sang to her and oohed and aahed over how tiny she is. He even shared his racecars with her. He then told me that he wanted his baby to be a girl. I told him that we will find out soon!

This morning, we went to church and then to lunch at Dixie Cafe. After church we came home hoping that Caleb would take a nap. It was dreary and cool and misty outside and I just wanted to get under a blanket and sleep. Rudy wanted to go play golf, so he took off for a few hours. My nap wishes were cancelled out by Caleb, who refused to nap. I heard banging around in his room at one point and when I went in to check on the situation, he was standing in the middle of a pile of toys, wearing his football helmet and cleats. I was frustrated beyond belief, but finally gave up and let him watch TV in the living room with me. After a while, he realized that it wasn't raining anymore and wanted to go outside. I took a blanket and a book and watched him play in the backyard while we waited for Rudy to come home. Once Rudy got home, I turned over kid watching duty to him, got dinner going in the oven and worked on my lesson plans for the week. They had a blast in the backyard, playing every sport under the sun and then some. Caleb came in and asked me what was cooking and I told him "chicken pot pie." He grinned really big and said, "Yay! Pie!" He was disappointed when he tasted it. It wasn't exactly what he expected from pie.

Now, Caleb has FINALLY gone to sleep, I'm about to watch the season finale of Design Star and Rudy is camped out in the recliner watching football. This is a very busy week for us, so we're trying to get a restful start. I have a faculty meeting until almost 5:00 tomorrow. Tuesday is Gymboree/band practice night. On Wednesday, I'm hosting a grandmother shower at our house and Rudy has softball. On Thursday, we have our big 20 week ultrasound, where we'll get to find out if HotShot is a Nola or a Harrison...hoping he/she cooperates with that! After the ultrasound, I have to go back to work for open house. The Fellers family is coming to stay with us on Friday night. Rudy, Chad and Owen are playing golf on Saturday. I'm not sure what Ronni, Caleb and I are doing. Saturday afternoon, Jan is coming to take care of Caleb. Saturday night is the UA vs UGA game on ESPN and we'll be in the stands doing our best to cheer on our Hogs. I hope and pray that Sunday is a relaxing day!