Autumn....

Autumn sweeps in and I LOVE it!! We've had rain, chilly days, (still a few 90 degree days but, I'm not complaining) and the leaves are finally started to fall. (From trees other than my insect infested one) Now that the kids are older, we actually have "traditions" by definition.

Baked goods- of course.....

Pumpkin Patch

Caramel Apples

Fresh Apple cherry pie....

and FOOTBALL!

Hockey game....

and of course...


"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (couldn't get an image!)

Next year, we're going to try and go apple picking.....and the BIG corn maze...can't wait!

What are some of your fall traditions?

Really.

Who's seen the SNL Weekend Update with the "really???" skit? They show do outrageous stories and follow it with a ".....Really.?" It's actually pretty funny. Lately- I've been mentally saying that word, following an incident. Sometimes even out loud.
Here's a few examples....

1.) We're very close to the end of potty training. Maybe I'm being optimistic. Maybe we're just in the middle. But we're past the beginning, so I'm grateful for that. She pees in the potty all day and wears underwear...but I still have to give her a candy for going, or she refuses to go. She finally tells when she needs to go.....but pooping is another story. She gets really nervous to poop in the potty, so she holds it for several days. Each nap time I think...."this is going to be it..." and with several incidents, prior to this....I walk in and get smacked in the face by the smell of baby feces. The lights are on and she is walking around with a naked bum smeared with poop. Where is the poop, you ask? I search everywhere.....past the dozens of dirty wipes that she attempted to clean herself with, past the books she had pulled off the shelf, behind the curtains, under the bed, where could it be? Finally I checked her drawers. There, in her pants drawer....she had returned the poopy pullup inside of the pants back to the pants' original home.
Realllly.?

2.) I was putting all the groceries away in a my newly organized pantry. I'd been trying extra hard to keep things clean and orderly, despite the toddler and boys swimming against my current. I was keeping a sack of potatoes on the floor of the pantry to grow "eyes" so I could plant them in the garden. I was sweeping the kitchen floor and moved everything out of the pantry to sweep as well. I lifted the bag of potatoes to find probably 1/4 cup of mouse poop on the floor. Ratatouille and his fam must have stopped by....(are staying?) Do you know my husband's fear of mice?
Really.?

3.) Tee ball game- 2 separate cars. Dad has to drive over from work. Mom has all 3 kids and all their gear. First year playing....don't know the parking situation. I tried to read the signs but some were blocked by trees. I questioned this one particular spot, but the sign didn't seem to exclude it so I went for it. Game, heat, chasing toddler, "Watch the ball!" "Put your helmet back on!" "Good job, you got a (small) piece of it!" ......walk back to the car. "what's for dinner?" "I'm hot." "can I have a drink? Libby took mine..." Bam. Ticket on the windshield. $40? You gotta be kidding me! Drive past Jer's car (in a different area) and bam. Ticket on his too. $40.
RRReally.
Tball ended up costing more than anticipated.

4.)Pumpkin patch season was around the corner. Amazon local had a great deal- buy one, get one free ticket. and- free entrance into the corn maze. Told everyone about it that day. Didn't get around to the computer myself until 10pm that night. Began purchasing them and realized I had bought them on 2 different days. (1 set for T-Th, other for Fr-Sat.) Annoyed by that, I didn't print out vouchers, planning to call the office the next day. several days later got around to calling and explaining my situation. They couldn't do anything- they said to call the Farm themselves. So I called, and planned email and phone tag with the rep. at the Farm. Finally caught her and closed my front door to try and get quiet while I was on the phone (hearing screaming from inside the house...) almost to the end of our conversation and to a resolution, when the call was disconnected. Gave up. Thought- "I'll just take the tickets I have and pay the difference." Our printer was acting up and we were in the process of hooking up another one, so I still didn't print out the vouchers. Pumpkin Patch day arrived and 5 minutes before we were supposed to leave- I asked Jer to print them out so we'd have them. They were gone. Do they erase if you don't print them? ......speechless. out the money for them and out the money for full price tickets after ALL THAT WORK!
(deep breath. )
Really.?
I don't know if I have it in me to demand my money back. I'm so fed up with that scenario.

5.) Scrap booking night. I couldn't wait to be with friends, get my creative outlet on, use my cricut, that I rarely have a chance to......I had printed all my pictures and had everything packed in my rolling scrap booking case. I had just taken the pics out that day and was doing something with them. Then while at my friend's house.... I was ready to get started. Began pulling everything out......where are the pictures? They were in here....I know I put them ....right .....(gasp) I took them out! brutal.
Just tried to do what I could without them. Furious that I lost my whole opportunity to get it done....from a simple mistake. Got home and the next morning I was pulling out my pic-less pages and I was getting out some other things....found my pictures in the case....in the new safe pocket that I carefully stored them in. They were there all along.
Hm. really.?

Really.? A great response to an incredibly frustrating incident. And I often do a "Jim" (from The Office) stare with it. As if the camera is taping my hilarious life and someone else can chuckle with me.

roxaboxen

At a girls' night recently- I was expressing my frustration with my kids not wanting to be out in the 90 degree weather and how every activity I try to suggest- it either doesn't work with all ages or someone ends up coming inside screaming...
She teaches 2nd grade too, and mentioned a book that she always reads to her students called, "Roxaboxen". (picture below) I have yet to read it to them, but will be checking the library. It's a story of kids playing with boxes and rocks and using their imagination, etc. It reminded me of the fun that plain old boxes were- so one morning Luke, Lib and I trucked down to Target and asked if they had any extra boxes. They had a million and were more than happy to help us start our adventure. I put all that could fit in my car and we sat in our drive way and I tried to show Luke "how it was done"......

With a toddler- it is still tricky, because the boys are ready for more sophisticated play and she tries to mimic them, but unintentionally ruins it. We got markers out and old drawer knobs and created different stores and shops.

After Libby infiltrated one of Ian's stores, Papa Mrfez acquired a new rule apparently.....

They loved having the cash register outside and money ended up everywhere..... if only it had been real.

Then we cut up cardboard and made tons of different foods and items on them to pretend with. Next week, we'll invite the neighbor kids down-......

I can't say that it completely solved the "outdoor" challenge, but it is one small step in continued training of how to be a kid and have fun- Since when did that have to be taught???

Best part? They always acquire accents when they pretend. Love it.

home sweet home

Staying home? Hard to answer the question that I get asked almost daily. How are you liking staying home with the kids? and Are you relieved to not be teaching anymore? Is it SO NICE to not have to work?

Well, while I won't be one of those women who demands a higher title or more recognition for all they do at home,......it has been difficult to sort out my feelings through it all. So I'll lay out some pros and cons- that I have found.....

We'll do the negative first so we can end on a good note.....

CONS:

1. You never get a break from your kids.

2. (especially when you have young ones....) You are in your home all day that you would love to clean, but your toddler undoes everything you accomplish.

3. I have to wake up my toddler from naptime (that she didn't successfully take) and go to the bus stop promptly or they will return my kindergartener to the school

4. Your marriage changes- unless you were doing this from the beginning

5. Work out time- GONE

6. Daily conversations- cut down to 1/8 of what you had (and must be voiced above 3 loud voices...)

7. Your strengths, talents, passions are put on the back burner (even more than before) and you really search for outlets for them to seep through

8. It really must be stated.....: Sometimes they just DRIVE me crazy!!!!

9. I really miss doing things I love. That I feel alive through. That I am praised for. That I can learn more and perfect...

10. My babysitter had 1/2 acre that they could play on with a tramp, outside playhouse, down stair romp room, pool, and other kids. I don't have much to suggest when they need to get their boy energy out....we just don't have much space and outside- it's 90 degrees with just a younger kid playground. They want to wrestle- then Libby jumps in and thinks she should hit others as a way to get them to play.....anyway- this is a dilemma. Tramp: possible Christmas idea.

BOTTOM LINE sacrifice

PROS: :):)

1. I'm not sternly saying, "WE have GOT to go.....or we are both going to be late if you don't put your shoes on!" e v e r y morning.

2. I am available. I'm available to do a favor for a friend whose daycare was closed one day and needed a sitter. I'm available to make treats for my hubs to take to work. I'm available to go to the grocery on the middle of a Monday for coupon reasons if I need to.

3. This one is one of my favorites. I can do homework with the kids. We are still trying to figure out what to do with Chatty Chatterson during this time, since she thinks she should be up at the table with them, in the loudest voice you can imagine.--Sometimes I put the Wiggles on and she is interested- others .....notsomuch.

4. Walking back from the bus stop- they debrief me from their day. By the time I used to pick them up- they were way past that and I got very little insight to their school experience.

5. I can volunteer in their classes. I finally have it worked out with a friend who has a girl Lib's age and we swap babysitting and go into our kids' classes.

6. The kids ask for their friends to come over---- and it's not an impossibility. It's difficult to have friends over when you're working. Having friends over was one of my favorite things as a kid. My mom was so great about it. It's a sacrifice too- but I think it's good for them

7. I can monitor and control what they do (t.v./video intake) what they eat, and who they are spending time with. I'm not all about control but when they are young- it's important.

8. I have a lot more influence on them now. I'm with them much more.

9. I don't have guilt about not doing my best. I know that this is where I should be now.

10. Okay- I'm trying to think of a 10th reason to balance the scales.....we can be outside, ride bikes, walks, parks, during light hours instead of me needing to make dinner as soon as we got home.....

I knew it would be hard. and it is. Some days are better than others. If you saw my dance pictures on facebook- that was one of the better days. But I'm on a mission to be real. I think so much of the time we look at pictures or talk with others and while we don't want to go around complaining all the time- we think everything must be perfect with someone.....you don't hear the bad stuff, and you see all these great pictures....

That's not me. I think I might start posting pictures of what my house looks like on some days. We (at least I) have this perception that no one else struggles with the things we do- since they're not talking about it. I have amazing kids, an amazing husband, supportive friends, and I am very blessed. But I struggle with parenting, I struggle with being at home sometimes, I struggle with trying to workout and stay healthy amidst this crazy schedule (and not eating the whole house as a stress relief while I'm home) and I struggle with hating my messy house that I try to put second to my kids. I try to capitalize on the good days so I will remember them when the bad ones roll in.

The pics above are of a sing/dance class that I go to with some friends weekly. It's at the public library and it's so cute. Sometimes Libby acts shy and doesn't want to do it. But she's been doing well for the most part. I get a wish list from Ian (shown above)and try to pick books out for them while we're there. Luke likes various storybooks.

So there you have it. That's where I'm at right now. (while I Libby screaming......who is on the third day with no nap) I end up having to get her up eventually for the bus stop so I think she is learning that she never has to go to sleep.

She used to be the BEST sleeper ever too.

Ahh, the joys.

So this is my second year attempting a garden, and again I've been learning a lot. The biggest challenge I have is good positioning for sunlight. Because of the direction my house is facing and the fences and houses beside us, much of our yard is shading for several hours at a time. Our raised area is where I prefer to keep the garden but it isn't as big as I would like it and parts of it are shaded as well.

Basil coming out of my ears! all this from a tiny seed. I think the most amazing thing about gardening is when you see a fruit producing and it all started from one tiny seed. I can't help but be in awe of .....God. It puzzles me how someone can see everything around us and not believe there was a Creator of it all.

If you know me, you know I am a picky eater. Especially with veggies....It probably sounds funny, but as I pick all these fresh veggies, they seem like gold to me. I long to enjoy their taste. Some I am beginning to be able to tolerate, others.....may take several years. :) But I always think....God designed all this for us to eat- and I go and get something out of the cupboard that has soooooo much extra fake stuff in it. Yeah, it tastes good. But if I was on Survivor-----I would devour all these beautiful fruits and vegetables if I came upon them on my journey.

Making lots of pizza and spaghetti sauce with all the tomatoes. It smells SO good when I am roasting them in the oven with EVOO, garlic, basil, oregano, and salt.

And of course, one of the most popular items in the garden.....that we check to harvest daily. Lib and Luke take turns for who gets the 1 or 2 strawberries a day that are ready. :)

A bountiful harvest! Challenge- using it all before it goes bad. (and convincing my family to eat it as well)

The other new one I did this year was peas. Luke loves them and Libby had eaten them on occasion. They LOVE to pop the pod open and eat them. It is so fun to find pods that are ready at snack time and sit outside and eat them. (again- a food that will take MANY years for me to accept. ---so mushy!) But I have 2 children that will eat them. progress.....right?

I would love to have some berry bushes....but I don't want to ruin the landscape of my yard so I am struggling to know how possible it would be.

(sigh) I'll have to write more later on my adventures of staying at home. But now- I'd better go to the stinkin P90x in my living room before all my clothes don't fit at all. (or before Libby wakes up again and tries to clean out her own poopy diaper,....or before someone else calls, someone knocks on the door, i find an intolerable mess somewhere or Luke comes down asking when his personal "mom" time starts *which is a special time where he can pick what we do without siblings around)
2 more days til Friday!!! And counting.....

H2C

Hood to Coast: An experience I swore I would never be a part of. But, dang it! I fell on the band wagon just like everyone else. I mostly did it to be with Jer and have something that we were training for together. We went with 2 other couples that we are friends with. I had been dreading it and all the work it took to leave for 4 days. We left on Luke's first day of school. My parents weren't able to get into town until after school got out- so I had to find "in-between" care for them as well. Anyway- to save all the details- my folks came and took such great care of them. We went and all fell into place. On the first night we stayed at my good friend, Melissa's house. Her and her husband were amazing hosts and it was SO great to get a good night's sleep before the race......especially since we would be up the following 38 hours! Hood to Coast is a 200 mile relay from Hood River to Seaside (the coast). There are teams of 12 runners split into 2 vans. Each runner has 3 legs of 4-7 miles each. One whole van does a set of legs and then the other whole van goes, so forth. It was fun. It was exhausting. It was challenging. It was good to get away.

The beach when we got finished.....(this doesn't show the MASSIVE amount of people behind me from the race. ) Traffic was so bad that it took us 3 hours to go 5 miles. Our last runner was waiting at the finish line for us for 2 hours. Poor girl!

At the coast

Our team. I didn't even try to get runner pics. I was just trying to be "present" in the moment...

And finally, the first day of school pictures. Of course Libby wanted to get in on it. This was actually the day she went to Miss Mel's (my old babysitter) when we were leaving
to go to Hood to Coast. She thinks she is so big. :)

Mr. Luke headin to Kindergarten. He was in high spirits when we dropped him off and it was such a surreal feeling watching them toddle off to the playground together. Luke seemed like a newcomer and stopped at a few various places that I think he thought he was supposed to go into since we had been to the Orientation the previous day. "Wait for him, Ian." I said aloud in the car. "He's going to get lost." Jer assured me he wouldn't. And he didn't. But I did get a phone call by 10:00 just as we were about to leave.....from the school nurse. She informed me that she had a cute little boy in her office that was very upset. He had fallen in a mud puddle and soaked his shorts. He was having a hard time calming down and agreeing to return to class. She asked if I would try and verbally calm him down and give him a little verbal TLC. He was bawling. My heart sank. I've never seen or heard him upset for so long over something like that. Apparently he really is self-conscious about others around him. We were afraid we were going to have to go talk with him in person because he still wasn't interested in returning to class. 40 minutes later the nurse finally called back and said he was okay now. He refused to return the shorts to the office the next day, in fear of everyone knowing "he fell in the mud". poor guy. But several school days later and it's all good. Sweet, sensitive guy.
cheesy smile:

Mr. Ian. lol. I don't know where to begin with this guy. He constantly surprises us with his big words used correctly in context. He asks the most complicated questions. (which I often respond with "We'll ask Papa Larry." since he thinks Papa knows everything. He jumped in the car after the first day and said, "Hey guys! Didya miss me?" He doesn't seem to realize that the constant daily redirection from his teacher, means.....he isn't completely on task. In his mind- nothing concrete happened to signify he got in trouble. After all, (in his mind) he wasn't deliberately doing something wrong. I hope he has a good year. He is growing up so much and so fast. He said to me last night, "Mom, thank you for being my mom." in the most sincere voice. He followed it up with a, "I'll love you .....no matter...where you go.....no matter where you are.....no matter what!" I told him I'd remind him of that when he was a teenager. which won't be that long......

I will try and do a better job of updating this. yet my hours seem just as restricted if not more so than before.....

life

I'm not sure where to even start with this post. But as I have felt weighed down with emotions lately- I figured it would probably be healthy to get them out. It's August already. Can you believe it? School will start for both boys in about 3 1/2 weeks. and......We.Are.Ready.
Some days it is so great to have so much more time with them, and other days I see why they need constant structure, other kids to interact with and.....more space to be boys. Meeting their needs as well as trying to meet Libby's as a 2 year old, is challenging. She doesn't have someone her age to play with (all the time) and so she either tries to corral into their play or chant phrases over and over to me until she gets what she thinks she wants. She wants to do what they are doing, but isn't always able to. Some days- I think, "It has to get easier than this...." Other days remind me of why I am doing this. We've had an eventful summer, full of play dates, field trips, picnics, parks, swimming, books, crafts, snacks, and SUN......also full of redirecting, discipline, sticker charts, time outs, privileges revoked,vinegar in mouth, a lot of t.a.l.k.s. Hugs, kisses, and exhaustion.
But in several weeks we will have made it through. Made it through another phase, another transition in life, and another milestone. Each day I wake up, and when I'm having my quiet time, I think, this is a new day. It doesn't have to be like yesterday, or it may not be as good as yesterday. Just be available and do your best.
Often my best doesn't seem quite good enough, but it's all I have.

Libby is talking about everything and becoming quite the "2 year old" She can be as sweet as sugar and then turn on her naughtiness in a blink. Luke is growing up and really searching for his role as the middle child. We try so hard to individualize him and give him separate attention. Thank God, his handwriting has finally improved. lol. I was deeply heartbroken by his caveman scratches he produced with his left hand. (libby looks like a lefty as well..)But he is a sweet boy that loves TLC, and loves to be social.
Ian is very bright and enjoys learning. His head is constantly going, questions all.the.time. So then Luke pipes up asking the same question swapping out the noun with something different (usually making no sense, but wanting to be included). THEN Libby gathers the same tone and tries to mimic them and be a big girl by chiming in as well. I daily search for my sanity.

But when I tuck them in at night, (feeling teary eyed as I write this) I know I am doing the right thing. At least I'm worn out by my own kids, and not everyone else's. At least we do have time to make memories and not just rush everywhere. (not that life has slowed down). My world (as anticipated) has turned upside down. I'm adjusting, and we'll get in the groove, but I also mourn the end of a chapter of my life that I loved. And yes, as the fall comes and everyone is getting ready- I miss it. I miss it already. Doesn't mean I regret this decision, but my life is going to be very different now. All I've known as a mom has been balanced by this other world that I maintained. I don't have that world anymore. I pray for other things to maintain that balance.
So- here's to the weekend, to several more weeks of chaos, and then we can settle down to a routine. (not counting on pure bliss- but it must get a little easier, right?)