Sniffles, Sleep, Seals, and "Les Miz." Oh, and Pools.

I'm a little worried: LG, who hardly ever gets sick, has yet another cold.  This is the 3rd time he's been sick in 4 months.  The first time, in November, I think he had the flu.  He missed a week of school, and he NEVER misses that much!  He's usually over his sickness within 24 hours.  But today he woke up with a slight fever, and he's sniffling & sneezing, poor thing.
Although it certainly hasn't affected his energy level (through the roof) or his appetite (5 Boca breakfast links, 2 apples, and counting).
WG got the flu right after he did, and she's had a couple of colds since, as well.  She had a big ol' sneeze right before leaving for school this morning, so we'll see how THAT goes.
It's because I didn't get them their flu shots this year, I'm guessing.  But we haven't gotten them for the past couple of years, and they've been fine.
Sometimes I'm an idiot!
I REALLY shouldn't take chances this way!  Because now they're paying for it!
And yes, I know the flu shot doesn't protect against colds, but maybe they wouldn't be so vulnerable to the cold viruses if they hadn't had the flu.  Poor babies!

LG is going to turn 10 this year.  WTH?!?!?!  How did THAT happen?  It's crazy; time just keeps speeding up, and I want it to slow down a little bit!  I want to go back in time, just for a couple of hours, to when they were toddlers.  It's a bit of a blur, and I want to go back knowing what I know now.  But I guess we all want that, at some point or another.

Anyway,what with all the germs and anxiety flying around, there hasn't been a lot of sleep up in here.  I'm hoping that will be remedied soon.
Like tonight.

In the GOOD news portion of the blog, I saw a seal yesterday!  I was walking at Seal Point Park, a place, mind you, where I had NEVER previously seen a seal.  Just as I was thinking about that fact, a seal popped his head out of the water and looked right at me.  He (or she) was SO CUTE!!!!!  Just staring right at me, as if to state that, yes, they do in fact live there.
I may be post-40, but show me a cute mammal and I'm 9 years old again.  Don't even get me started on the deer that live around here!  They see me coming and sigh, like little kids who know they're about to get their cheeks pinched.  As for the geese and ducks, well, they've once again started hanging out in front of our townhouse, waiting for bread.  I'm gonna miss those guys!  Although I'm guessing our neighbor's cat may expel a huge sigh of relief when he sees our moving van drive away.

Speaking of the move, my therapist (bless her) gave me a suggestion.  One that goes into the "Duh!" file, but she's kind enough not to say that out loud.  I was saying how much we'd miss the pool, how good the water is for the kids' sensory systems, and that I was concerned about taking them to a big public pool with the crowds and the noise and all, and she said "Why don't you get one of those inexpensive above-ground pools from Target?"
And the angels sang!
And then I remembered last summer, and how we would get all those circulars in the paper advertising those pools!  They're not kiddie pools, but they're not huge, either.  The water goes to about 4-5 feet, and they fit 6-10 people, depending on whether they're kids or adults.  I kept thinking "If we had a yard, I'd TOTALLY get one of these, omig-d!!!!"  (Because I often think in a valley girl accent.)
And then promptly forgot all about it.
But my in-laws have a yard.  A big yard!  With an area that would be PERFECT for one of these inexpensive pools! And then the kids could splash and play to their hearts' content.  In private.  Safely (with adult supervision, of course!), and we wouldn't have to pay a fee to use it!
Then, as the weather gets cooler, we simply empty it out and put it away until next year.
So, of course, I then had to go and start dreaming big, like "What if we got one of those swim spa thingies?  Or one of the "swim at home" pools that creates a current so you can swim laps?"  Then I went online and saw that they START at $13,000, and that was the end of THAT.  'Cause the one from Target costs $179.
Hubby's on board with the idea.  We just have to ask, y'know, my in-laws.
But I have a feeling they'll be amenable to it.

Finally, I don't know if you happened to catch it, but "Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Concert" was on PBS last night.  it was performed last November, and at the end they brought on members of the original London cast to perform.  It was AWESOME!!!!!  "Les Miz" is one of my favorite shows EVER.  I saw in on Broadway in '87.
3 times.
And saw the touring production in Boston in '88.
4 times.
(Gotta love those student discount tickets!)
And I have to say, watching it again last night brought a few tears to my eyes.
Partly because I'm, once again, realizing how freakin' old I am!  I saw the show when I was 18/19.  Now I have kids and I'm hitting (glurk!) middle age.
Sigh.

Time marches on.

But, hey.  At least when we have the pool I can act like a kid again!