When I Was a Little Pig...

P is really into story telling lately. He loves to hear them and he loves to tell them. So on the way home from a fun night of trick or treating with good friends he asked if I'd tell him a story. One of his recent favorites is of the 3 Little Pigs so I told him the watered down version. Then he proceeded with, "I want to tell you a story." So this is his story (or as much as I can remember of it because he kind of goes off on tangents in his stories).....
      "Once when I was a little pig I made a house of hay. A very bad wolf came along and said, 'I puff and I puff and I blow your house down!' so he puffed and puffed like this (he actually blew air to show me) but he couldn't blow my house down. Then I laughed and laughed and the very bad wolf laughed and laughed. I was tired so I went to my brother's house to take a nap. The very bad wolf was tired too so I went downstairs and covered him up so he'd be nice and warm. Then I took a nap."

Not too shabby for a 3 year old, huh? Maybe he'll be the author in the family after all. I don't take for granted the hours we spend telling each other stories (although it does test my patience at times) because I know someday this will be a thing of the past, just another great memory from P's childhood.

**On a side note, he went house to house trick or treating tonight for the first time. He went with a couple of his big kid friends and I can report that he just wasn't into it. He liked the first couple houses but then he got tired of it so we waited on the sidewalk for his big kid friends, which suited him just fine because it gave him a chance to play football. All in all it was a fun Halloween week!**

Being a Mom

Growing up, one of the things that stands out the most about my childhood is how involved my mom was in my education. In fact, when I was presented by the Superintendent at my former district as a new teacher, he was quick to say he remembered not only me but my mom from when he was my principal in elementary school. I've longed to be that mom as well and today I had that chance. Today I was just a mom...and I have loved every minute of it! I dropped P off at school for his last day at that school. Then I went to the hospital to pre-register for E's big debut (I'm hoping that he doesn't take this to mean he can come way early!). I grabbed a few short minutes to myself at Starbucks then happily went back to P's school to be a "room mom" (Is that what they're still called?) for his Halloween party. I loved being "Preston's Mommy" and having the kids fight over who got to sit next to me. I loved watching P interact with his little friends. I loved the excitement on their faces when they trick or treated around the school, getting fun little treats. I loved every minute there, except when we said goodbye for the last time. (Since I'm not working anymore we can't justify the preschool expense.) Once we got home P and I cuddled, read stories, watched cartoon songs, took a nap together and just enjoyed each other's company minus the rat race of errands, chores, etc. Tonight we're going to some friends' house to go trick or treating with P's big kid friends and eat pizza. I have no doubt it'll be another thing I enjoy doing as a mom. I love just being a mom!

 

Crazy First Day

With P cuddling next to me and E having a dance party in the womb, I woke up this morning thinking, "This is a great way to start the day!". Little did I know that it was going to be a chaotic, hectic day from beginning to end. Our landlord called around 9am to tell me that he was having an appraisal done on the house tomorrow, which I took to mean "Please have the house looking spic n span" so, in between running errands, getting P's Halloween pics taken, doing laundry and getting ready for P's last day at school tomorrow (staff gifts, Halloween cookies, etc) I scrubbed the house. It's still not perfect and now I'm kicking myself for laying down for an hour this afternoon but there's only so much I can do. If Rob was here he'd be on me for doing so much as it was. Actually he would've been helping me. Now that P's in bed I'm going to put a few clothes away and wipe down the bathroom counters before calling it a night myself. Tonight I plan on eating a banana before bed so hopefully I won't get the incredibly painful Charley horse calf cramps that woke me up-in tears-last night. Then I'll be rested for tomorrow, another busy day. I'm crossing my fingers that Thursday and Friday will be my mellow, rest-at-home-all-day days.

Early Retirement

Today at 3:30 my early retirement officially started. Over the weekend my guilty conscience started eating at me and I was wondering if I could just tough it out, asking my doctor to rescind her recommendation for early leave. Rob talked me back off the ledge, reminding me of how much better it will be for me and Easton to take it easy. I prayed a lot about it as well, not feeling 100% one way or the other. When this morning started out of whack and my problem child threw 5 temper tantrums and 3 staff members mentioned how exhausted I looked (That could be from my eldest son waking me up a few times each night!) I finally felt at peace about starting my maternity leave early. Even my good kids were "off" today. It could very well be that it's Halloween week or that the poor kiddos have dealt with so many subs the past few weeks. But it did make it easier to say goodbye at the end of the day. By the time 3:30 came around my back hurt, I had a headache and I was exhausted. That's not to say that I didn't appreciate the kind words that different staff members said or the hugs I received or the beautiful flowers that the staff gave me. I just felt that, when I left, I was doing the right thing. Now I can focus on me, E and P. So, I've "retired" from teaching-at least for a couple years- and am officially a stay-at-home-mom, a job I cherish already!

Today's Festivities

 

I think I'm making up for lost time on blogging because I've become a blogging fool this weekend. :) Anyway, this will mostly be pictures of our day. This afternoon P and I carved/decorated our pumpkins for the year. After that we went to a local Trunk-or-Treat (Where cars are decorated and people hand out candy from their trunks...usually set up at churches). Then we topped it off with a family walk at the lake.

P took this one

Trunk or treat

Being Wrong

In my opinion there are very few things in life that are worse than admitting you're wrong. My dad and Rob occasionally point out that I don't like to be wrong....and they're right. If someone says I'm wrong I'm quick to defend my way of thinking or turn the conversation around to point fingers at the other person. It's not something I'm proud of but it's something I'm working on.
That being said, Rob is always quick to lift me up, to tell me how beautiful he thinks I am or how smart he thinks I am or how lucky he is to have me as his wife. So when he brings something to my attention that bothers him about me I listen and try to work on it. Last night he brought it to my attention that I've been focused a lot on being "fat" and tired instead of truly enjoying growing a life inside of me. And, as much as I'd hate to admit it, he's right (That may mean I'm wrong but the jury is still out on that one...ha!). I pride myself in not having the philosophy of "eating for two" but when people make comments about me eating a lot or I get weighed at the dr's office and realize I've gained more than a few pounds I beat myself up over it. But, as Rob pointed out, I'm growing a child in me and if I'm hungry it's my body telling me to eat. I probably need to eat healthier than I have been but I don't need to beat myself up over it. I lost my baby weight after P was born so I'm sure I'll do it again (even if it takes me a little longer). So, after my husband graciously brought this to my attention, it's something I plan to work on for the rest of my pregnancy. I need to enjoy every minute of this precious life growing inside me because, within a couple months, it'll all be over and I'll never experience it again. As for the tired part, I've got to learn how to relax more and not fill my "To-Do" list so full each day...a thing I REALLY struggle with. God blessed us with this pregnancy and I intend to appreciate it for its duration. So, bring wrong isn't always bad. Sometimes there are lessons to be learned! Maybe once in awhile (like once a year) it's ok for me to be wrong. :)

Halloween Party

When I was younger and always going out, I hated Halloween. I refused to dress up, turned the lights out so trick or treaters wouldn't come around and hated teaching on Halloween. Now that I have kid(s) I love Halloween! I enjoy watching P get dressed up to go to trunk or treating. I enjoy carving the pumpkins. And I enjoy the Halloween parties. This year is no exception. My friend, Natalie, made me the cutest pregnancy Halloween shirt and I've been wearing it with pride. We went to a Halloween party with our "Archery Family" tonight and, as always, had a lot of fun. Here is a snip-it of our fun evening with good friends.....

 

So Much in Our Lives

When Summer ended I thought our lives would slow down a bit but that hasn't been the case. A lot has gone on in our lives this week, with even more happening in the next month or two. The first BIG thing that happened is that I got my dr's okay to start my maternity leave as of Monday. I've been dealing with so much stress at work that I've had migraines, which she said qualifies me to take an early leave. Monday will be my last day, saying goodbye to my students as they deserve, then I'll officially take an early 'retirement' from teaching....at least for a few years (if we can swing it financially).
In addition to getting cleared from work, my dr appt went well. I've gained more weight than I've wanted to but I'm still about 5 lbs away from the weight I gained in my pregnancy with P so I can't beat myself up too much. Easton is already head down, which at the time surprised me, but after further research found that this is common. I think he's head down already from the many late night dance parties he's held in the womb, practicing the "centipede". :) My dr doesn't think I'll make it until my Jan. 10th due date so she said as soon as I go into labor we'll schedule the c-section then. I personally have a feeling that he'll be a Christmas baby but time will tell.
Thursday we celebrated Rob's un-birthday. He used to hate birthdays but I THINK we've got him coming around to tolerating-if not enjoying them-the past few years. He got lavished with Scheels gift cards and money to spend on hunting stuff. I took him to dinner at his favorite place and then made him a peach cobbler instead of a birthday cake. To top off his special day, P and I gave him a "Snuffy" (ie Snoopy) card that P promptly took back and has been playing with ever since.
Yesterday Rob took off for the day. He went duck hunting with some of his buddies for most of the morning. Then we ended the evening at our church's Trunk or Treat. P dressed in his Greenbay Packers costume and had a blast on the bounce houses, getting candy, playing games and seeing friends.

This morning I'd love to be sleeping in but P and Rob left awhile ago to go on P's first duck hunt. Whether they bring any ducks back or not, I have a feeling that it'll be memorable for the both of them. Tonight we head to our friends' for a family friendly Halloween party. At some point today I have to get to my classroom to pack up the little bit that I have there. Maybe just maybe tomorrow will be a day of rest as intended. On second thought, probably not, but that's ok. I love this time of year and all the excitement it's currently bringing in our lives. Stay tuned for Halloween pics and updates throughout the next few days. Until then........

Til Death Do Us Part

This is something I read on FB this morning. I don't do the hormonal crying so I know I was crying by the end because of how moving the story was to me. It's long so please read it when you have the time to really read it. It's sad that marriages are thrown by the wayside so often today when all it takes is a little work to keep the marriage healthy and alive.

MARRIAGE

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said,  “I’ve got something to tell you.”  She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, “You are not a man!”  That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her! With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.

She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now. The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again. In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request. I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully. My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her. On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote,” I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.” That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed – dead.

My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push thru with the divorce.– At least, in the eyes of our son— I’m a loving husband….

 

 

Old v. "New"

For sentimental reasons, I've missed our old house. Our first house together, the one we brought P home to. I also miss the open floor plan, the space it provided and the breath-taking views we got to enjoy on a daily basis. I also miss our neighbors. But, up until yesterday, that was all I missed. Every day I'm thankful for the easy, beautiful commute I get to enjoy. It's not a chore to have to go down the hill to run a quick errand or grab a bite to eat. There are many pros that outweigh the cons when he decided to move.
That being said, I can honestly say I really miss living in our old house during storms. I enjoyed watching the clouds roll in. I enjoyed watching the snow fall. I enjoyed hearing the wind (as long as it wasn't over 25 mph). I enjoyed the comfy fires in the fireplace. As much as I hated our bedroom windows at our old house, I did miss waking up to the beautiful scenery of snow falling outside them this morning. I didn't realize there was even snow on the ground until I opened the garage to leave for work. Everything has good and bad and there are many things I like about the current house we're renting. But enjoying a Winter storm is not one of them.

Fun Weekend

I'm sure you're tired of hearing me say this but it's so nice having Rob home! We dreaded his travel schedule when going back to his old crew but, knock on wood, the out of town jobs have been short and bearable....for now. Which means we get to spend time as a family on the weekends. Add to that my parents coming to town spur of the moment to watch P so Rob and I could have a date night and it was a perfect weekend in my book. Yesterday we started the day at one of our favorite breakfast places and then went to the local pumpkin patch. After a lazy afternoon Rob and I met up with some friends for the NRA banquet. (To hear more about that look at last night's blog) This morning we went to church as a family and then grabbed a bite to eat before saying goodbye to my parents. I don't ever take for granted Rob being home or my parents coming for a visit but I do take advantage of it! :)

A Rock and a Gun

Tonight we went to the NRA banquet. I enjoy these types of dinners but the auctions always make me nervous because Rob always goes over the budget we've discussed beforehand. During the live auction tonight I was playing on my phone (It was a rather boring auction) when I noticed he raised his hand for a bid. I asked what he had won and he replied, "Oh nothing" just as the auctioneer announced that he was the winner....of a rock. When I found out what he had paid for it I was beyond mad. I was livid! In fact you probably could've seen fumes coming from my head if you looked close enough. The rest of the table razzed him while I kept still....as a rock. He informed me that with the rock he had a chance to win the dinner gun, the prize of all prizes. Since we never win anything all I could think about was the money we had thrown away. The rest of the auction went on and the razzing never slowed down from our friends. I continued to fume as I realized we were going to walk away with a stupid rock and travel mug as our "winnings". The announcer said they'd be calling the winning ticket for the dinner gun so Rob pulled out his ticket. The announcer got down to the last three numbers: 1....4...................5. We looked down and saw those numbers matched the ticket in Rob's hand. He let out a holler and I breathed a sigh of relief. He graciously donated his rock back, not wanting to see it anymore, while he proudly claimed his new Benelli. A few minutes later as everyone was laughing about the situation his name was called again to claim another prize......the stupid rock. He had won it again! Maybe it was meant to be in our house but he said no thank you and exchanged it for a gift certificate instead. A minute later our friend that was razzing him the most about the rock ended up winning it and she was thrilled beyond belief. So in the long run, the stupid rock that costs us $200 ended up getting Rob a $2,000 gun with a great story behind it. Needless to say, I appreciated the rock by the end of the night and will enjoy sharing this story over many years to come!

the gun is the N.R.A. gun of the year. it's a benelli ultra light 12 guage, 3" chamber. it has the national rifle association enscribed in the metal. it is one of the most beautiful guns ive ever seen. i am happy beyond belief to have that gun, and even more happy that winning it got me off the couch and back into the bedroom!

Geocaching Anyone?

Yesterday I learned a new phrase and took part in a fun activity....geocaching. If you're not familiar with it let me fill you in. It's a national (if not worldwide thing) where you use the GPS on your phone to go for a treasure hunt. You can go to geocaching.com to get info for your area. You can specify whether you want it easy, medium or hard and if you want it for kids or not. A new Moms Club that I joined held this activity and both P and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We hiked through the beautiful forest with some friends (new and old) while following a "treasure map" to find hidden treats. Unfortunately the kid's geocaching that the lady had signed up for was longer than anticipated and the kiddos were getting tired. So we distracted them while she hid some treasures for them to find. P thought it was just like "Alvin and the Chipmunks" when he found his Scooby Doo notepad. He was so excited that he kept running around, showing his treasure to the rest of the group. If you haven't tried this and are up for a fun, physical challenge I urge you to look into it. The only downfall of the entire thing?? I forgot my camera in the car and didn't get a single picture of the fun. :( Oh well! I definitely plan to do it again....at which time I'll be sure to remember my camera!!

Fall is in the Air!

Fall is by far my most favorite season of the year for many reasons. The main one is because of the beauty it beholds. I have never seen a place that doesn't look pretty in the Fall, including the Walmart parking lot. Last night we took a family drive to the lake so I was able to capture some Fall wildlife pictures. This morning P wanted to go to one of his favorite local places, "Borrow's Mansion". I used the opportunity to take some more Fall pictures while he played. Enjoy the Fall scenery...........

 

Not Much to Say

I know I haven't blogged in about a week but it's because there hasn't been much to say I guess. Last weekend some girlfriends came to town for our annual Girls' Night Out. A group of local girlfriends met us for dinner and then, while my married friends went home, my single friends were more than willing to go out and hit the town. Don't get me wrong. It was a lot of fun but I'm not meant for late nights anymore. I've been having a problem with my feet and ankles severely getting swollen by the end of the day and being in heels, walking around, sure didn't help last Saturday night. Finally, after midnight, I asked if we could go back to our room because my feet hurt so bad.
Monday I started back to work. It's such a mess there that I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about the craziness I've endured this year so I didn't feel like blogging about it anymore.
Today I'm off work (Hallelujah!) and the morning started with a battle of the wills. P is such an easy going, well mannered, well behaved lil guy that it kills me when we have to seriously get on him. But lately he's made huge messes with his toys but won't clean them up. We've tried bribes, rewards, positive praise, consequences, taking his toys away, spankings...... This morning I finally told him that I'd lock him in his room until it was clean. Although he screamed the whole time, he did finally clean up his room in record time. That and eating dinner are our only battles so I can't complain. I just hate to get on him when 98% of the time he's an angel.
This weekend my parents are coming to town so we'll do something Halloweenish. Then Rob and I are going to a benefit dinner with some friends Saturday night. Hopefully then I'll have more to blog. But as of now I think you're all caught up on our lives.

Birthday Blah :)

If you know me well you know that birthdays are a week long celebration for me. But, not this year. There are some birthdays I'm just not excited about, like when I turned 26, and this year was one of them. Rob about fell over when I told him I didn't want to do anything more than to go out for a nice dinner. Because I respect his (weird) birthday wishes, he respected mine. I did enjoy a morning of pampering with some alone time at Starbucks and then a pedi while P was at school. But other than that it was a normal day. I'm in nesting mode so I got a lot of stuff ready for Easton's arrival. Don't get me wrong.....I enjoyed the day and people went above and beyond to make the day special for me. From FB posts to texts to phone calls to extravagant gifts, my friends and family showed me all kinds of love. The nicest part of the day was dinner at a local Japanese steakhouse. Not only do I love the food, but I love the process used to cook in front of us. And I thoroughly enjoy watching the process through P's eyes. His excitement is contagious! Although it wasn't a big birthday celebration, it was a very nice day that I enjoyed. Sometimes it's more enjoyable to have mellow than over the top. Not every year but once a decade is good!

Conspiracy Theory

I think the house-dog included-have a conspiracy theory against me getting any sleep! I'm used to it now, functioning on 3-4 hours of sleep a night. Plus, I know it's getting me ready for when baby Easton enters our lives. Last night was almost comical. The night before I hadn't gotten any sleep so I was pretty tired last night despite taking a 2 hour nap. (I'm fighting a cold or something which doesn't help) Anyway, I was laying in bed watching TV when out of nowhere Rob started snoring. Now Rob is not a snorer, which is great since I can't sleep with any noise or light (The new freeway that opened by our house wreaks havoc on my sleep!). After a few minutes he stopped snoring....and then he started clucking like a hen. I couldn't mimic it if my life depended on it but it was hilarious. He alternated between clucking and snoring for over an hour. I moved down to the guest room, hoping to get some shut eye but that wasn't in the cards for me either. P kept coughing then the dog got out of his room and started drinking out of the toilet. I got her back in P's room and then she started thumping her tail against something hard. I finally fell asleep when P woke up because he had soaked through his pull-up. By that time I gave up on getting any decent sleep. At this point I enjoy the occasional night where I sleep 6-8 hours but I now find the rest of the nights rather comical. I'm learning that sleep is so overrated!!

Good Idea

 

 

P has been asking me to use his little pumpkin to make cookies for the past few days. Since he's been under the weather we (rather, I) finally got around to getting everything together to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from scratch. It took 2 days to accomplish the final product but it was worth the wait. Plus, I used it to teach him some Science, Math, Cooking and Photography skills. :) The cookies turned out great and P was proud of himself for coming up with the idea. Here's the process in motion....

 

P's pumpkin. He loved feeling the "goo" inside!

He helped cut the pulp off....with a child safety knife.

Pumpkin is cooking!

Mixing some of the ingredients together.

Are they done yet, Mommy?

P's picture of me during the process. :)

The final product.....YUM!!!

Another Good One

This has been another good weekend. A great combination of relaxation and fun. Yesterday we started the day with a family breakfast at one of our favorite places. We ended the day with taking P to his first college football game, which he loved. I'm not typically a football fan but I thoroughly enjoyed the game and wish we could've stayed til the end (P wasn't feeling 100% so we left with 5 minutes left...and then it went into overtime!). This morning P woke up feeling under the weather so he and Daddy had some bonding time while I went to church. The sermon was AWESOME, one of the best I've heard in awhile. Maybe it's because I wasn't distracted with a lil guy but I sure learned a lot from Pastor Joe. Afterwards I ran over to my friend's house to give my little goddaughter a big birthday hug and drop off her present. Once I made it back home I put all the ingredients for veggie/beef stew in the crockpot, watched the race and then we all piled into our bed for a family nap. The boys are still napping so I'm enjoying some quiet time. All in all, it's been a fabulous weekend!

Goldilocks v. Sleeping Beauty

I'd love to say that, now that it's cooling down, I'm more like Sleeping Beauty but I still resemble Goldilocks most nights. I honestly believe that I'd sleep through the night if P or my bladder didn't wake me up. Once I'm woken up then E decides to wake up and move around. After that I either realize I'm hungry or I start getting calf cramps. I've started eating bananas right before bed to curb this problem but once in awhile it still gets to me. Last night was one of those nights. P woke me up twice and by then I was wide awake. I came downstairs and played on the computer for about an hour. Then I tried to get comfortable on the couch. When I couldn't do that then I moved onto the guest bed. After tossing and turning quite a bit I got comfortable and fell asleep. A few hours later Mr. Goldilocks (aka P) found me after sleeping in his bed and ours. He crawled into bed with me and went right to sleep whereas I stayed awake for the most part. I guess I'm just getting extra practice for what it's going to be like in a few months with a newborn. Oh well! For the most part my body's learned how to function and, hey, I can catch up on sleep when I'm dead. :)

Lattin Farm

 

My girlfriends and I loaded the SUVs with kiddos and headed to a new pumpkin patch, an hour from town. Upon our arrival it didn't look like it was going to be worth the drive. But after a hayride, picking pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, picking raspberries, the petting farm and the kiddie train we changed our minds. What a fun day with a fun group of friends!

 

Story Teller

My Papa was my hero for so many reasons. Not only was he talented and quite the handy man but he was also creative. He made every visit fun from beginning to end by doing stuff to create special memories. Although I have more fond memories of him than I could count, one of my favorites is the stories he would tell my brother and me. He'd take us for drives and tell us stories that kept us on the edge of our seats. He's been gone 9 years now, which is so hard to believe. There's a lot I want to share with him, wanting him to see how my life has turned out.
One thing I know he'd be proud of is that I've passed on his love for story telling to his great grandson. A week or so ago, P asked me to tell him a story. I made up something quick and simple and he loved it. Since then he's asked me on a daily basis to tell him stories. His favorites are when he's the hero at the end and "saves the day". The stories are mostly told while we're driving somewhere, which has been a lot in the past week.
Last week when we were visiting my parents my mom had told him about how I had caught a live frog when I was a little girl and had eaten its leg before she caught me and took the frog from my vice grip. Today when we were coming home from visiting Rob out of town P told me he wanted to tell me a story. This is how it went.......
"When I was a little boy I was standing my the door quiet. I was eating a frog leg and Gee came over and said "Jennifer, stop eating that frog. It's yucky!" So I  gave Gee the frog and she wiped my mouth with a paper towel. Then she said, "Jennifer, don't do that again!""
I love how he incorporated both stories. I also both how he is getting more creative with every story he tells. I have no doubt that my Papa is looking down on us from above, beaming as we make up stories on our car rides.

Still Good in the World

For the most part I'm a glass half full type of person whereas Rob is more of a glass half empty type of person. But we both saw the good today. Let me retract a minute....
Our former neighbor emailed me that there was a package that had been Fed-Ex'd to our old house for Rob. He thought it was work boots that he had ordered but found out that the package was too small. So we were both eager to find out what it was. I met up with our former neighbor today and my curiosity was peaked by this small package. Much to my surprise, when I opened it, it was Rob's wallet that he had lost a couple weeks ago while hunting up near Idaho. Not only was it his wallet but everything was still in it!! It's nice to know that there are still honest, good people in the world that go out of their way to help others, to return things that they could've easily kept. So a big thank you to "Ash" for being that person and putting a smile on both of our faces!

Fall Fun in Hot Temps

  

From the pumpkin patch to miniature golfing to a shopping spree to wedding events, P and I filled another weekend full of fun things with my parents. It didn't quite feel like Fall, though, when we were sweating profusely- or is it glistening like a pig profusely??-at each thing (minus the shopping spree). Either way we filled the memory books with my parents once again and loved every minute of it. Here is a snip-it of our weekend in CA.