Breaking Into the Teens

I was awake and up just before 5:30am. I slept pretty well despite waking a few times due to the kids. Mindy got up to address their needs each time. God bless her. She’s still having coughing fits of her own in the middle of the night, too. Before settling in for some sit-ups I checked the temperature. It was 1 degree. Another cold run ahead. Ten minutes later, after finishing my exercises, I headed out with Ykraps. We battled through the cold just fine. I wore my cold weather head and hand gear, so I was really quite cozy, although not as cozy as I am during my run. I sipped coffee at the PC and read the Daily OM. I delivered Mindy’s coffee then promptly returned for a little more PC time. I responded to David’s last couple emails, and thanked him for sending the COBU/Forever Family link. I was wise to Stuart’s larger than life ego even then as a stupid teenager. I dressed warmly for my run. I’ve got the garb down pat for the bitter cold. I could see a lovely crescent moon in the southeastern sky through the thin cloud cover. In addition to the clouds, we were getting bombarded by teeny-tiny ice crystals again. It was really pretty glistening under the street lights. I can only assume that it’s frozen fog. My run ended where it began. Go figure! Inside, Mindy was busy finishing my eggs and rounding up the kids to depart for school. She confirmed that Jimaken Wednesday was cancelled due to Jacob being ill. We’d be having those steaks I bought yesterday for dinner. As bus time arrived, I was busy scurrying about. Jacob headed out the door without me. We didn’t take the football. At the bus stop I asked Jacob where his hat was. He didn’t know. Also, he was wearing those daggone receiving gloves instead if his warm winter gloves. At the same time, neighbor Jake said he wasn’t feeling well but that his mom was making him go to school anyhow. He also shared that his tonsillectomy appointment has been postponed for two weeks. Too bad. The bus pulled up at 8:03am. I walked back home and grabbed my gear and headed off for work. Gas was $1.83. I was setting at about 1/3 of a tank but decided to go on, knowingly risking a mid-day price increase. This was staff meeting day. The morning moved fast. Our meeting lasted well past 1pm. We had several items needing addressed. As soon as that meeting was over I woofed down my chicken & noodles just before running off to yet another meeting that lasted until 3pm. Mindy phoned around 4pm to, among other things, ask if I could come home a little early so that she could take Jacob to the doctor. He was complaining of a sore throat and was running a low grade fever – the tell-tale signs of strep. I agreed to leave work at 5pm versus 5:30pm. If she hadn’t asked, I was planning to stop at Kroger to get some Goldschlager for our ski trip. In addition, I wanted to stop at Advanced Auto Parts to look for the correct trailer wiring harness for the new Pilot. I scrapped those plans in order to meet Mindy’s needs. I stopped for gas at Thornton’s after seeing the price remained the same all day. The Trooper took 16 gallons. I arrived home just after 5:30pm. I walked Ykraps almost immediately in part so Mindy & Jacob could dash off to see brother/doctor Craig. I got to stay home with the wee ones! Yippie! Mindy offered that I should broil the steaks and feed the kids. However, I already knew that I would not be trying to cook and serve dinner by myself. Nope. I’d simply wait for their return. I had everything all ready to go. I was simply waiting for her call to start the broiler. That call came around 6:30pm. I promptly started broiler then threw the steaks in. They were done ten minutes later and timed perfectly with Mindy and Jacob’s return. We were eating later than usual but it was a better alternative to me trying to do it all myself. I failed to mention that the smoke detectors were blaring away just when Mindy walked in. The smoke from the broiler set them off. The kids were freaking out. Kids! Dinner was good. Everyone had some steak except for Jacob, who was having Dairy Queen for being a brave boy at the doctor’s. Please! I did clean-up after Mindy corralled the kids upstairs for their baths. We had them tucked in just in time to tune into Wednesday Idol. Tonight’s show was from Louisville, Ky. Like most other tryout nights, there were some very funny moments. After Idol, we watched a new Fox show called Lie To Me. We both liked it much. We may tune in again. We headed for bed at 10:05pm. Good night moon! It was 19 degrees when we headed for bed! Wahoo – a heat wave!