Sniffles

Rob, KC, Lissa and I all have colds. Luckily (knocking wood furiously) it seems a light summer cold. I want it gone from our house by next Wednesday at the latest. I am announcing this in my firmest voice to the Powers That Be. We are going camping next weekend. I am due a weekend of fun and sunshine. The kids are due fun and sunshine. Snot and coughs don't enter into that equation!

This left a dilemma tonight as to what to do with the kids after supper. They are not ill enough to want to loll around and had spent most of the day indoors due to inclement weather. A short time when the weather broke allowed about an hour of outside play but that is a small amount for my brood. They had energy--sort of--to burn off. But not enough energy for park play, nor enough sociability to enjoy it. They had that sort of crankiness associated with feeling punky.

I decided we would take the double stroller and walk the loop up past our city's high school. It is about a mile and a half round trip. In a stroke of parental genius, I brought a magnifying glass that KC got on his birthday. This helped get KC to slow down (the boy loves to run with Rob most of the way, but truthfully he was too congested for this to be a wise idea) The idea of looking at the flowers we saw along the way, at shiny rocks, and other oddments with the magnification his lens provided slowed him down periodically. It worked brilliantly!

We also threw rocks in the stream we walked past and picked wildflowers up by the high school to bring home. I love that in summer our house is filled with wildflowers. Queen Anne's Lace, wild mallow, daisies, brown eyed susans, even clover, fill simple vases throughout the house.

We all had fun and had just enough exercise. They are all sleeping as I write this. I hope tomorrow they are feeling better.