outside!

Today (and well everyday), the boy woke in the morning and the first word to cross his lips was "Outsziiiii!" He says it 1,000 more times before 9am. Our morning routine almost always calls for a healthy helping of fresh air.
But today.
This week.
Ugh.
It is a blustery, drizzly, chilly, vortex of wind and water. I do not want to go outside, but mind over matter. We will not succumb to cabin fever before it is even November.
The boy wins and we gear up for Outsziiiiii! He in his yummy yellow slicker and I in my wellies.
He is happy as a clam, running through the wet grass with a car in each hand. This boy is so busy he does not even seem to notice the elements, even as his hat blows down the sidewalk.
Meanwhile, our glass, outer front door is wind-whipped, the hinges are bent, and it no longer shuts properly. My pretty potted mums are strewn across the front yard. Our doormat is yards from the door. A plastic chair that does not belong to us is laying upside down on our front steps. I return the chair to the neighbor's yard, where I presume it came from. It is a real Midwestern hurricane.
Winter is coming!
There are even rumors of snow and ice in the next 24 hours. I am trying so hard to embrace this.
The boy screams as I haul his chilly red and runny nose back inside after 15 minutes. We eat some chocolate chip cookies and suddenly all is well with the world.
Our furnace is chugging along and I am organizing drawers of hats and mittens.
I even sewed a little draft snake to stuff in our mailbox slot and keep our front entry cozy. I am sooo jazzed about the idea of not having to walk or even open the door to get the mail when it is -20 windchill in a month or two...

Ooh, and my laptop is officially fixed!! Hooray for that. It is always good to spend a few days unplugged every now and then. I feel like my time is so much more focused on the things that really truly matter in life.

Also: We are so anxious to see the Giants win the World Series!!