Is This Normal?
The chaos that is the KerbersArchive for weather
Shopping day
Today was the second annual Mother/Daughter Christmas shopping day in Bloomington/Normal. Unfortunately, because we were having 40 mph winds and it was snowing up in Sycamore, Mom and Nancy decided they better not brave the elements and come down. We were all so disappointed, but it really wasn’t a good idea for them to be on the road when the weather was so ugly. So much for our “annual” event…it lasted one year! But I had taken a personal day off of work, so I was determined to get through my shopping list today.
I was uber-organized, which of course everyone thinks is hilarious. I’m sure that not many people make detailed spreadsheets for their Christmas shopping lists. But it’s the way that I work best…planning everything out before I ever leave the house. Because the weather was so crappy I wanted to be as efficient as possible, too. Being out in it as little as possible was a definite plus.
I started with a few stops at department stores like Wal-Mart and Target, and then headed to the mall. It was hard to make some decisions by myself, but I really did well overall. By 1:00 pm I was close to being done with all the big presents. I just had a few gift cards and some stocking stuffers to get, so I was feeling great. Then I hit the book store and everything came to a screeching halt.
Each year Santa brings each of my kids a nice, hardcover book. So far, Dave and I have gone together to pick these out, and we really try to pick books that we think the kids will like. This year, it was really hard for me. I swear I looked at every picture book they had on display and again as many that were on the shelves. I did find two great choices, but it seemed to take me forever! Finally I was out of there and just had a few more stops to make before heading home.
I spent a lot of money and had to call Dave about a dozen times, but I did get done with my list and really enjoyed my day. I do love buying gifts for my family and friends. Now to get them all wrapped…
Gloomy, dreary, rainy, and blah
Today was truly the most gray and depressing day I can remember in a very long time. It was either pouring rain or misty and foggy the entire day and I swear it looked like it was 4:30 in the afternoon at 8:00 am.
On the way home from Danielle’s this afternoon I said to Ben, “Boy, it sure is gloomy outside today.”
“What does gloomy mean?” Ben asked.
I said, “Buddy, look out your window right now…you see how gray and rainy and sad it looks outside?”
“Yeah,” he said, “And it looks really WET.”
“Right,” I said. “THAT’s what gloomy means.”
“Mama,” he said (lately he often refers to me as Mama for some unknown reason), “I think I like sunny days more than gloomy days.”
“Me too,” I said.
Truer words have never been spoken. I usually suffer from some seasonal depression in February and/or March, but it’s never started this early before. I hope we see some more sun very soon because this grayness is really starting to get to me. I love working in a room that has a wall full of windows, but with weather like this, it can also be tough to handle watching it all day!
Another warm Saturday=neighborhood fun
It was gorgeous outside again today, which is crazy considering it’s November. But we certainly took advantage of it, and we spent almost the entire afternoon outside playing. In the summer, we play outside almost every night with our neighborhood friends. But those days are becoming fewer and far between, so it was great to spend so much time with them again.
The biggest attraction today was sidewalk chalk. All of the kids were totally into it. They drew words, they scribbled big sections of colors, and they drew pictures. I even joined in, because let’s face it…there’s not much better than drawing with sidewalk chalk on a warm fall afternoon. The kids were all covered with chalk, and it was a really awesome afternoon. Hopefully this warm weather will hold on so we can stretch fall out a little bit longer.
A textbook Sunday
There’s Indian Summer, and then there’s 70° in November. Today, it was sunny and 70° outside. No, I’m not kidding…it really was that warm! Grandma Judy, Grandpa Scott, Brett, and Kelli came down to spend the day with us, and it was a really great day. The kids played with Brett & Kelli so much, and they had a blast. They played downstairs, out in the front yard, downstairs again, out in the back yard, and back downstairs some more. Let me tell you that basement was trashed! I swear they had gotten out every single toy we have down there and none of them seemed to find their way home. But it didn’t matter. Just by looking at it I could tell that it was awesome. I think my favorite thing they had done was to set up our blocks to make a sort of wall in the corner. Ben told me that he was a puppy, and that was his cage. His sleeping bag was in there, and an empty bucket was, too. He said that was his blanket and his food. It cracked me up.
“Were Kelli and Brett your owners?” I asked him.
“Yes, he said, “They took care of me!” He had a huge smile on his face.
I love that he is starting to interact with kids more and he’s joining in with imaginative play. He’s getting so grown up, and I seem to notice more and more changes in him daily. What a mixed feeling that is.
I’m calling this a textbook Sunday because we literally got to do everything I hold near and dear about Sundays. We went to church as a family, we came home and went straight outside to ride bikes, more family arrived and we ate dinner together, we played outside with our neighborhood friends, and we generally had an awesome time just being together. It really reminded me of my childhood Sundays, and I have to say I absolutely loved it. For the first time in a very long time, I dread going to bed tonight!
Halloween fun
The weather made us nervous all week, but luckily it pretty much cooperated in order for us to have a very fun Halloween night. It was a tad bit chilly, but thankfully the rain finally stopped.
We started the night with pizza, and Grandma & Grandpa Kerber joined us first. Then Aunt Theresa came, and finally Auntie M, Salina, and Bella rounded out our group. It didn’t take anyone long to finish eating…the anticipation of trick-or-treating was on the forefront of everyone’s mind. 
So after we ate we changed into our costumes (which luckily were big enough to leave room for a couple of extra layers underneath) and headed out. Ben the panther, Emma the lion and Bella as Magenta the dog made up our costumed group. 
Since Auntie M and Salina both came with us, the adults outnumbered the kids for once, which is never a bad thing!
We started down the street and the kids were into it right away. Emma had not napped this afternoon, so after only a couple of houses, she was getting droopy and was pretty far behind.
But Ben was very patient with both of the little girls. He would wait out on the sidewalk and I can’t remember him complaining once. After about 40 minutes of trick-or-treating both of the girls were ready to head in. Neither of them really knew what any of the candy was in the first place, and they were pooped from walking. Plus, Bella had other stops to make, so Auntie M and Salina were off.
Ben, however, was still ready to go. So Dave took him around one more block. Needless to say, his pumpkin was very heavy by the time they got home a half hour later. He was so excited about some of the things in there. It was too funny. By this time Grandma & Grandpa had gone home, but Aunt Theresa still had a bag of goodies for the kids. They both loved opening these, and we had to have just one more treat before bed.
Both kids had so much fun trick-or-treating. 
We ran into almost all of our neighborhood friends and saw some pretty cool Halloween houses. While Halloween is certainly not my favorite holiday, I have to admit that a smile came to my face on more than one occasion tonight. There’s not much more you can ask than that.
Oh wait, icing on the cake…the Illini football team beat Michigan tonight, too! Woo HOO!!
Off to the pumpkin farm
Between the weather being crappy and a couple previous commitments, we were not sure that we’d get to a pumpkin farm at all this fall. Luckily, though, the rain subsided for awhile this afternoon, and we were able to hit Rader’s Family Farm for a short time. Our main goal was to have some fun and to get a good carving pumpkin. We had two smallish pumpkins sitting on our porch from the kids’ visit to Grandma Judy and Grandpa Scott’s, but they were smashed in the street last night, so situation had instantly become more urgent. We needed a pumpkin to carve, darn it! So after church and lunch, we were off.
Since we’ve had so much rain lately, the place was a total mud pit. The owners had done as much as they could to help with the mud situation…there was straw laid down all over the place out there, but it was still a muddy mess. Nonetheless, we played on the straw pile, in the big trough of corn, ran around the play area a bit, and even stopped at the photo spot.
You’ll probably notice how talented my kids are at posing for a staged picture. (Yes, that is written with a great amount of sarcasm…look at that picture!)
As the clouds started to roll in, we decided that the play time could wait and we had better pick out a pumpkin quick! 
Daddy found the carving one, and Ben and Emma each picked their own that they could carry. As Dave paid for our treasures, the kids and I quickly went through the barn and looked at the animals, and then we headed for the car. The first sprinkles were coming down as we loaded up.
It was a short, but profitable trip. The kids were thrilled with their pumpkins, and we were home in time for Emma to still get a nice nap in. A win/win situation, if I do say so myself.
Homecoming ‘09
It’s Homecoming week at NCHS this week, which means a lot of fun for the students and a lot of headaches for the teachers. This year’s theme is “It’s A Jungle in Here” and this morning when we gt to school the atrium was decorated really cute. The student council had worked hard on their day off of school to get the building looking festive for the week.
They even taped green film over the lights to give the entire atrium an eery greenish glow. For a minute, when I walked in and saw all this, it made me smile and think, “This will be fun.” But it took me about five more minutes inside the building to retract that thought. Even though it’s only a four day week this year, the kids will just be totally nuts, and all of us adults in the building feel like we’re just babysitting. Every night has an activity happening, and the kids will get crazier each day closer to the weekend. To top it all off, the weather is supposed to be crappy all week, so there is very little chance of us going to either the parade or the game on Friday, which stinks. I swear, Homecoming seems to get less and less fun every year! Does this mean I’m getting old???
Illini Saturday the sequel
For our birthdays in August, 
Theresa got us tickets to the Illinois vs. Michigan St. game, which was today. It was Homecoming in Champaign, which is always a fun day, and Dave and I were really looking forward to going to the game. But since we had been to the game last week, and saw how badly the Illini looked then, we had trepedations about our chances today. We had hope for an Illini victory, though, and looked forward to the game.
We were way too optimistic, I’m afraid. The Illini are awful. And really…using the word awful is being too kind to them. They didn’t do anything well today. Truly, the highlight of the game was when two fighter jets flew over the stadium during the pre-game show.
However, it was certainly not a wasted day. We got to see Ryan again, and he even went to dinner with us after the game at Papa Del’s, our very favorite place in Champaign. There is nothing better than enjoying a Pop’s pizza on a Saturday afternoon. There is just something about that pizza that is indescribable yumminess. I liken it to Mystic Pizza…one may never know what’s in it that makes it so good. But we do love it, and both Dave and I look forward to getting there at least once a fall. We were happy that we could take Ry with us to keep the torch for Pop’s burning on.
We’re still holding on to some hope for the Illini, but it’s very little. I can hardy remember a time when we were this bad at football. Honestly, I’m not sure that we’ll win another game this year. It’s a sad day in Chambana-ville. 
Windows replaced
Yippee…we have new windows in every room on our second floor! Well, that’s not entirely true…the little windows in the laundry room and our master bathroom have not been replaced yet, but the big ones are done. There is now a new, sealed, and easy-to-open window in the office, in each kid’s room and there are two in our room. What a difference they’ve made already! I know that we’ll notice a big change in the warmth of the rooms this winter, and hopefully we’ll see a differnce in our utility bill, too!
I’m so proud of Dave for getting all of this done. This is one home improvement that should truly make our second story more comfortable for all of us. Hopefully he can get the little ones measured and in before the weather turns into winter completely.
Illini fun
Family, food, and football…what more could you want, right? Yesterday was a great day spent with all three. The Swartzies bought tickets to the Illini vs. Penn St. game in Champaign, and were looking forward to spending the day with Ryan there. Then, at the last minute, our neighbors offered their season tickets to us for that game, too, so we decided to join in the fun. We quickly threw together some tailgating plans the night before, and it was on.
They picked us up around 9:30 and we all piled in the van to head to Champaign. Their tickets came with one parking pass, so this was the best way to ensure we could all tailgate together. We pulled into the lot, and were very impressed with the location. We were right across from the football stadium in the Assembly Hall parking lot. It was awesome!
Ry gave his brothers, Nance and me a tour of the campus, 
and it was so fun walking around with him now that he knows his way around and has experiences on campus. He showed us where he has classes, and where the house he pledged (and de-pledged) was, and had so many little funny things to tell us. I loved it. After the tour was done, we headed back to the stadium and Dave started grilling. 
We grilled brats and pork chops and had all kinds of yummy snacks on the side. Since the weather wasn’t cooperating too much, we brought hot chocolate with us, as well, and that really hit the spot, too. Some of Ry’s friends came to our tailgate, and it was fun meeting them.
It was all such a good time…until the actual game started! The Illini are so pitiful this year that it’s almost painful to watch them. We suffered through the game, with the intermittent rain and all. It’s so sad to watch. The ironic thing was that the Swartzie’s tickets were just a couple of rows away from ours…a total coincidence, but pretty fun.
We had such fun hanging with them and with Ryan. Even though he’s been a U of I student for almost two months, it didn’t seem as real to me as it does now, after seeing his dorm room and watching him interact with his friends. now it’s sunk in…the next generation has arrived and I’ve officially passed the torch!
