Back up...

We are back up and running, for the moment. We are at 99 percent of capacity, though, so I hope that we get our domain issues fixed really, really soon.

We haven't had much commentary of late so I'll try to give you the Reader's Digest version.

To jump in to the Way Back Machine, we had a good run at the Race for the Cure. We finished about a minute slower than last year, but I blame that on Jay entirely. He insisted that we start back farther than I wanted to (to be polite, damn the British!). Unfortunately no one gave the memo to the slow-a** people who decided to start up front even though they intended to walk or run about a block and THEN walk. Or walk/run five or six abreast. Honestly, this is not hard. Walkers and slow runners to the right and back. Faster people to the front and left. It isn't rocket science. Still and all we had a good morning for it and then hit Jim and Montell's for brunch served up courtesy of Markus, the short-order cook.

The next weekend Jay went out of town for a wedding and the boys and I went home for Cousin Edward's wedding. I got to see all of about 5 minutes of it as Allan decided that he 1) loved the sound of his voice echoing in the church and 2) could not live without climbing the steps to the altar or choir loft. I felt like I was wrestling a bear. All of that aside, the boys had an excellent visit with Bailey -- who kept calling them "short britches" -- and with Bo and the cats. They both loved the four-wheeler, too.

Last weekend was the pumpkin patch -- pony rides, train rides, slides, the works. What we didn't end up with was a pumpkin. I refuse to pay $10 for a pumpkin -- much less $40 so we each can have one. We'll pick some up at Kroger. Don't worry about the pumpkin patch, though. We left about $40 bucks there anyway by the time we paid for the petting zoo, hot dogs, etc. Good clean fun isn't cheap. We also visited with the Ks who have twins of their own -- three years old. O and Griffith got in to the Little Tykes cars and spent about a half hour ramming in to each other. It was all a little much for Allan who kept making a break for the garage to see what he could get in to. He finally settled for riding the teeny-tiny big wheel. Santa will probably be bringing one of those this year.

Unfortunately Griff and I have contracted a stomach bug. He has been vomiting on and off since Tuesday. Poor little guy. Poor us. He has coated the crib (3 times), our bed (once), the couch (once, but a herculean effort coating both sides of one cushion, the top of another and the throw pillows), numerous quilts, his brother (once), his mother (twice), his father (once), and the rug (more times than we can count). Jay and I switched off Tuesday a.m. with Jay taking 4:30 a.m. to 6 and me thereafter. I had down 3 loads of laundry by 8. As Griff was standing there watching me and Jon and Kate Plus 8, he managed to vomit all over the nicely folded stack of dish towels. Sweetie, that is not helping.

We both seem to be recovering if slowly. Dad is stopping at Kroger to rent a steam cleaner because we can not get the couch clean and can not wait any longer to steam it. We were trying to wait Griff out but since he did fine all day yesterday and then hurled again pre-bedtime, we aren't really sure there is a reasonable end in sight.