Retirement?

I think I should take early retirement... from blogging, that is. I never blog anymore, and I never even see anything in my life worth blogging about. I seem to have run dry of all creativity, not to mention of the energy to share something of any interest to anyone at all. Sigh.

Is this the winter drearies settling in early this year? AHHH! It's gonna be an extra long winter...

In the style of my super-blogger sister-in-law, I'll post some bullets of our life:

• We have had a stomach bug the last two months. Since getting our carpet (Oct 23rd), Brennan has thrown up in bed twice, and Collin has once. I have gotten both illnesses, each for only about a day. Bleck. Two bouts of ickiness in just less than a month?! 
• Collin hates preschool. He says that school days aren't happy days. Most of the time he goes without argument, but he does so because he is generally pretty obedient, and he knows his mom wants him to. We pick up a neighbor boy on Wednesdays so they arrive together, because that day is generally his harder day. It seems to be helping. He tells me he doesn't talk to anyone there either. He sits on the line in the gym for indoor recess, and he stands by his teacher on the playground for outdoor recess.  It breaks my heart.
• I teach my boys Science Time each week. It should be more aptly called Science & Social Studies Time, but Collin loves Syd the Science Kid (PBS), so Science Time it is. Each boy has a science notebook, and we sing a welcome song (I wrote it and Collin knows all the words, lol), read a book from the library, and do an experiment or craft. Some topics we've covered this school year so far: apples, pumpkins, Columbus, Thanksgiving, gingerbread, float/sink, magnetism, electricity, balanced eating, meal manners. We all love it, and it is a bright star in each of my dreary weeks.
• I love book clubs. I regularly attend a monthly meeting at our library. The kids play with toys while the women talk about the book. I am sometimes the only one with a kid (Collin is at school), but I love it. We've read some good stuff this year: selections from Poe, The Book Thief, The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I also am invited to participate in a club with some sisters from the ward, but Ryan without fail has a church meeting during it, and we aren't allowed to bring our kids. I haven't been able to go since... March? Thank goodness for kid-friendly book clubs. It's my sanity.
• Ryan is singing in a stake choir for a special concert of Selections from the Messiah. We've invited our neighbors, and I think one set might even come! It has been hard on the fam (every Sunday evening for the last few months), but he is so happy when he's singing that it makes it easier on me to let him go. The concert is next weekend, and after three practices and two concerts in seven days, we'll be ready to have our daddy back.
• Brennan throws a tantrum each and every time we go shopping. Let me tell you what Christmas-errand running has been like... Actually, no. I'll let you just imagine for yourself - and then multiply that awfulness by 10! Yep, it's that bad. Sigh.
• I host our ward's playgroup each Friday morning. Sometimes we have more people than can be handled, and sometimes it is just me and my boys. I've been planning it for more than two years, and I think I need to retire. I'll have to start shopping for a replacement...
• Brennan is obsessed with hitting. He particularly loves hammers. He likes to say it three times in succession with increasing volume (think staccato): hammer, Hammer, HAMMER! Ryan has tried to teach him "little hammer," which is a tapping index finger that says "tick, tick, tick," but he definitely prefers the violent version. Go figure.
• I am the room mother for Collin's preschool class. It was easy enough until this month: teacher's half-birthday and baby shower this week, Collin's birthday party on Monday, and the Christmas party on Wednesday. Yikes. Luckily, there are a ton of moms who do just about everything, so I just try to be there. Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to bring our younger children, and I've called in every favor ever owed for people to keep Brennan for me. I guess I'll be skipping some preschool events.
• Collin has three loves in life: Science Time, Family Home Evening and Playgroup.
• Brennan has had nearly perpetual diarrhea and diaper rash for more than six weeks. At first, it was stomach bug #1. Then I think it was his two-year molars. Now I've decided it is stomach bug #2. In summary, I changed SEVEN dirty diapers in 8 hours on Friday. That's... wrong.  
• Brennan has three loves in life: hammers, time out (or so it seems) and pestering anyone and everyone. What a boy.
• Ryan and I have had a dating frenzy of late: his work Christmas party last Friday, the Nutcracker last Saturday, and the Messiah this Saturday. Hooray! I love dates!
• My parents came for Collin's first primary program. He did AWESOME with his part. It was almost like he didn't even know he was supposed to get nervous. He's never sang with the primary in sacrament meeting (Mother's Day & Father's Day), but he trooped up there and sat on the stand with his class with no problem. He was super wiggly and hardly sang a word, but he's not even four yet, so I didn't mind. I was just so proud of him for doing his part!
• Ryan is awesome. Surprised? Since Joliet, he has come home nearly every evening at 5:30 to eat dinner with us as a family. He leaves for work about 7:45. He does his huge calling, his home teaching, takes care of his feverish wife (stupid flu), and changes his share of diarrhea diapers. Love you, babe!
• We hosted Thanksgiving this year. My mom did all the work (for real), and we invited a few friends over. We had nine adults and five children. We had nine pies for dessert too. Just the kind of balance I like. :-)
• I always tell the boys I love them when I put them to bed at night. Last week one night Brennan said, "Love you, Mama." It was awesome. It almost made me forget about the shopping-tantrums. Almost.
• Collin made me a get-well card at school today without any prompting or prodding from the teacher. They have a mail box where they can write letters during Center Time, and he chose to write one to me, and then he asked his teacher if he could bring it home. Yep, he talked to his teacher! It melted my heart.
• Now blogger says I can't upload photos without paying a monthly fee. My blog just isn't worth that to me anymore. Maybe I'll start a new one. Maybe I really will take an early retirement. I guess it's meant to be.

Were my bullets random enough for you? Did you make it through? If you did, congrats. If you didn't, that's why I don't blog anymore. I just can't think of anything to keep my readership. So, signing off.