I think it's a little lame to open a post with an apology for not blogging more, so I'll just move straight onto what we've been doing for the last two weeks. We had a lovely time at Yogi Bear campground. There were no illnesses or absences to prevent our trip, and we even had a shiny new minivan to hold all our stuff. This was by no means a camping trip for the purists: I let Nick sit in the car the first night and finish the movie they'd been watching on the way out. (On the in-car DVD player, did I mention that? I'm somewhere between embaresed and thrilled about the in-car DVD player.) Some of the other scout families stayed in cabins, including about half our den. We rented a golf cart to ride around in, although Rich's ongoing back troubles at least provided a viable excuse for that one (he has trouble with long walks). We never did get a campfire going. But it was a good weekend. We ate proper camp foods, our kids and the boys of our den played together under the trees. We played mini-golf, and rode in a canoe and a paddleboat. The kids wanted to go swimming, but I hadn't packed swimsuits because I didn't think it would get warm enough; it was up in the high seventies on Saturday and they were much put out with my lack of forethought. We slept in a tent. Zoe cried at bedtime the first night because she wanted to go home and sleep in her own bed. Then she cried again on the last day because she didn't want to go home.

We went fishing. With real live worms, which I helped Nick put on the hook. Oh god that was gross. Nick swears he got a nibble; there was much rejoicing. When he put the worms back in the cooler, he didn't close the lid carefully enough, and by morning most of them had made a break for it. We were still finding worms when I unpacked that afternoon at home. Oh god that was amazingly gross. But, you know, the middle part was pretty cool. And from a personal standpoint, I think my willingness to participate in attaching a sharp hook to a frantically wriggling worm represents a moment of personal growth and courage that should be acknowledged.*

We got home Sunday. That evening, things took a turn for the worse. Ivan the cat, who has lived over a dozen year, had what our vet thinks is a seizure. It was scary. And there are very few harmless reasons for an old cat to suddenly have a seizure with no prior history. The next day I took him in for a checkup. He got a thorough physical exam and a lot of bloodwork, which added up to a big fat zero. The next step is a CT scan, and yes, feel free to insert a joke here, I'll wait. He'd have to be  sedated for that, which is a bit dangerous for a cat of his age, not to mention the expense and discomfort. So we agreed to wait and see. If he gets another seizure, then we'll decide what to do next.

The kids had to be reassured about Ivan, which was somewhat difficult under the circumstances. I told Zoe we were taking him to the vet so they could make him better and he wouldn't fall down again (her interpretation of what happened). When we went back to pick him up after the tests were done, she was quite relieved. We heard a lot about it for a day or two, then she moved on. Nick is old enough to get a more realistic assessment; we talked to him about some of the possibilities, and gently pointed out that Ivan might die. But then again, he might be fine, which is what Nick seems to have decided to believe in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary. He's moved on to other things too. I'll do their worrying for them.

Thursday was Nick's field trip. This is the first year I've been able to go; Zoe is finally old enough to leave with someone else.** I dropped Zoe off for the day with a friend from scouts, then drove off to meet the bus at the Cajun Country Corn Maze. Nick was thrilled to see me, and I have to say it was fun to spend time with him when it's just the two of us. They have a good program for school kids there. We fed farm animals, shucked corn (well, I did; Nick flatly refused to shuck) and watched some pig races. And then there was the maze, which Nick wanted to race through as quickly as possible, while I wanted to savor the walk. We got lost enough to compromise, I guess. We ate lunch, then the kids tried out the playground and the games. Nick was particularly taken with the pumpkin chucker, which was a large air gun that could fit a whole (small) pumpkin. That was one of the games that cost money, though, so after he'd used up his original tokens he was out of luck. The kids were eventually rounded up to get back on the buses, and I drove home. I was going to pick Nick up from school, as per his request, but by the time I got there they were watching a movie, which apparently sounded more interesting than me. At any rate, he wanted to stay and I let him. Zoe was happy to see me without seeming anxious. She'd had a lovely day too, I gather. Pretzels and yogurt for lunch, some new baby dolls clutched in her hands, lots of playtime...she took a long nap. 

*I made Rich pick the worms up out of the cooler, though. I have my limits.

 **Yes, I know plenty of babies go to day care. But there's an adjustment period. And those kids don't breastfeed all day. It wasn't practical for us, is what I'm saying.

On review, that picture still isn't all that great, in terms of showing what their costumes look like. Nick was the Hooded One, from the Bone graphic novels, just like last year. He wanted Zoe to dress as a Rat Creature, but his pleas were ignored. Instead I made her a puppy dog costume. It's just felt basted onto a brown shirt and pants, and the hat from the peasant boy outfit I made Nick when he was a toddler. I'm pretty happy about how it turned out, and Zoe loved it.

That minivan I was waiting for? Hit by a tornado. Seriously. Before I took possession, fortunately. The dealership it was located in was hit, it was damaged, and that's the end of that. Our dealer has found another, nearly identical vehicle (no cargo net in the replacement - color me undisturbed) so we have to stop by the dealership again tomorrow and sign off on car number two, then wait a few extra days to receive it. Hopefully it'll arrive before we go camping this weekend. Without any more weirdness.

Nick spent most of Halloween day lying on the sofa looking miserable. It was the most boring Halloween day we've had in years. We couldn't go anywhere, and a lot of the fun stuff I'd had planned didn't happen. We ate a dinner I threw together at the last minute, for example, because eating Monster Toes and Cheesy Corns while he was too sick to join us seemed more than a little mean - I always fix something special for Halloween, and he'd been excitedly waiting to see what it would be this year. When trick-or-treat time drew near, Nick decided he was to ill to go along, a decision I endorsed. I got Zoe in her costume, Rich went to the front porch, and Nick settled down to watch Wallace and Gromit. Zoe rode her wagon and quickly grasped the essentials of the evening - she never learned to say "trick or treat", but she was happy to holler out "candy!"."And "tank you", because she is a polite little girl. We walked down the block, collecting goodies and complements and stuffing our faces, for about half an hour. Then I got a call.

Nick had changed his mind. He was desperate to go along, the thought of missing out was just too painful. We walked back, helped Nick into his costume, and set out again. He held up all right. We visited a great many houses, on up to the famous Inflatables House several blocks down. It was jam-packed, but we fought through the crowds, holding hands to stay together. Last year we spent a lot of time looking at the inflatables themselves - this year Nick was interested in the haunted house. Zoe was agreeable, so we went through. That was probably a mistake - it was pretty scary. Nick started off laughing at the people who leaped out at us, but by the end he had his fingers in his ears and was saying "I'm not scared, I'm not scared" in a not particuarly convincing fashion. Zoe was looking alarmed too. No, I don't think I did serious psychological damage to either. But they were glad ot be out of there. Sheer greed and endorphins kept Nick moving forward for almost an hour, when he finally announced that Zoe looked tired. Which she did; I let the comment pass without challengeand we headed home.

Zoe ate even more candy at home. She has never in her life been permitted to gorge on that much junk food, and she clearly thought she was in heaven. It wasn't long before I hauled her off to bed, though, because she was clearly exhausted. I'm not sorry to have missed the sugar crash.  Nick didn't eat a bite, another sign of how sick he still was. He methodically spread out all his goodies and categorized and counted them, instead, which seemed to bring him much satisfaction. I sent him off to bed soon enough, too.

The next morning Nick still looked lousy, so we skipped church and stayed home again. By evening he was much recovered, and finally ate some dinner. I don't think Nick has ever gone two days without eating before; he's in no danger of starving to death but it was worrisome. Today he headed off to school and was just fine. Zoe, meanwhile, wanted to hop in the wagon and go get more candy. I guess Halloween made an inpression on her. 

I don't have a really great picture of the kids in costume this year; that's one of the things that didn't happen this time. This one from Boo at the Zoo two weeks ago is the best one with the pair of them.

I have two bits of important news and absolutely no idea how to segue from one to the other. I suppose I could write two separate entries, but that would be too much like work. So you'll just have to bear with me.

Up first: we bought a minivan! I am totally a soccer mom now, the more so because I am so excited about this. It's a Toyota Sienna. We'll actually take possession early next week, because its being shipped in from another dealer in the region, and then - I say with a mixture of enthusiasm and embarressment - the DVD system needs to be installed. I haven't even mentioned that part to the kids yet; they are totally going to spazz out when they get the news. Meantime, we traded in the Saturn and Rich is driving a bright red loaner car, so he looks all cool for a day or two, till he switches to driving the Camry. Which I also love, but it is probably even less cool than the minivan, being all scratched and battered looking. (But it runs great! Years of use still in that car! Just not even slightly pretty.)

And now to completely switch gears, because the other thing happening around here is Halloween, and Nick is sick. Probably with what I had last week. He was throwing up all night and all morning, and is now lying on the couch, sipping water and feeling miserable and sorry for himself. We're still hoping he might be able to go out tonight, but trick-or-treating will clearly have to be curtailed, and he can't actually eat any candy till he recovers. This is about the worst day of the year for a little kid to get sick. I feel very bad for him.