A long time coming...

Well the biggest news, as I think everyone knows, is that Matt and I are in the process of buying our house! We're really excited about it. It's 2 floors, about 2500 sq.ft., has a gameroom... basically exactly what we were looking for. I told Matt that the next step is furnishing it with the entire Ikea store. He said the next step was actually closing. Touche.

Matt is getting sick. He's had a sore throat for a few days now and he wont kiss me on the lips because he's scared he'll give it to me. He just kisses my forehead. It's adorable. He's in the bedroom lying down right now, fretting over the Michigan loss to Purdue. Poor guy - rough day. He's so funny when he's sick. He's kind of reverted to being a kid again. He's super sweet and cuddly and puts on his puppy dog eyes all the time. I've heard that lots of men revert when they're sick, but this is the first time Matt's really been sick since we've lived together so I hadn't seen it in him before. It's sweet for now... I just hope he doesn't get any sicker.

Last night we went to a Halloween party but we didn't have costumes. I didn't even know that we were going until that night and I'm not allowed to wear a Halloween costume to school, what with it being a pagan holiday and this being Texas and all, so we didn't have costumes. We looked pretty sad compared to everyone else. One of Matt's friends was the hamburglar. It was cool. I talked to Tom (Steel) yesterday and he said that he and Bev were going to be Donald and Daisy duck and I seriously can't wait to see pictures!

To combat my depression from having to turn the air conditioning back on today, I decided to play some Christmas music this afternoon. I think it might be making my depression worse. Christmas music looses it's flavor when it's 85 degrees and sunny outside. I have been having kind of a hard couple of weeks with missing Michigan. The summer wasn't so bad because of course it's hot in the summer... it was just extra hot down here, which I had come to expect. But now I'm so ready for the change of seasons and it's just not coming. Last week there were a few days where the high was in the 60s and I coudn't have been happier. I thought that the low temperatures would stick, but I guess not. It's supposed to be around 80 for the next week. Enough about the weather forecast. The point is that I miss fall and home and apple cider/apple cider donuts from Bayne's and long sleeve shirts and sweaters and pumpkins and my vote counting and everything. I hate winter with a passion (from December 26th on, anyway) but I LOVE fall. It's my favorite season. It's the season that says, "Let's bunker down and get ready for winter. Better put on a sweater and make a big pot of soup." This whole fall has made me realize that I definitely want to come back to the Midwest when we're ready for babies. Can you imagine never taking your kids to a pumpkin patch? Or on a hay ride? Or doing a snow dance the night that a big storm is on its way? Or waking them up 2 hours before sunrise to whisper, "You don't have to get up this morning... it's a snow day"? Or never having a white Christmas? It's fine for Matt and I to be here and not have those things for now, knowing that it's short term, but we will definitely be coming home in a few years.

And all this Christmas/home talk has gotten me thinking about traditions. Matt and I have only been married for just over a year, so the traditions we have are few and far between. One thing we did last Christmas was get one of those dorky mall ornaments (that I, and I believe the rest of America, secretly loves) where your whole family is represented in like snowmen or something. So I think ours is two grown-up reindeer, one boy and one girl for Matt and me, and then two little reindeer for Miles and Lucy. Matt brought that up today and said that we needed to be sure to get another one this year. I was like, "Why? It's all the same people, just a different year." He was like, "That's the point. It shows how our family grows and changes, who's a part of it every year and for how long." Our family. So I think that's our first tradition. Hopefully we can eventually add on some more traditions that involve mashed potatoes.

Last thing: I've been watching John and Kate Plus 8 (much thanks to Katie!) and I really love it. The other day one of my students said to me, "Ms. Steel, do you watch John and Kate Plus 8?" I said, "Yes, Madison, I do. Do you?" She said, "Yes. I love that show! You remind me so much of Kate!" I was flattered because I like Kate. Even though she is occasionally off her rocker, she is loving and caring towards her kids. She never baby-talks to them. She knows when enough is enough and her kids know when she means business. She has created traditions for them as a family. And she runs that house like no one's business. Her kids, all 8 of them, love and respect her.

Well, Ms. Steel, that's not to darn bad!