October!

Happy October!

I hate September, but I absolutely love October. The crisp weather, the fall festivals and the colorful leaves make my heart happy. For me, October is the unofficial beginning of the holiday season. From now until January, my home will slowly be transformed into a seasonal wonderland.

Last weekend we decorated the yard for Halloween. Today we are bringing out the indoor decorations to completely spookify our home. I'm especially excited about the addition of a lighted Halloween tree, which I ordered on a whim off of Amazon.

Tomorrow we are heading to the tree farm to find and to tag our tree for Christmas. We tagged our tree last year and it was worth the effort. The fields weren't busy, the weather wasn't freezing and the selection of trees was amazing. It was fun packing a picnic and spending the day trying to find the perfect Christmas tree. I can't wait to do it again!

I'm looking forward to sharing pictures on Monday!

Not Disney Bound

Yesterday was chaotic. I felt like I was spinning from the moment I rolled out of bed until I finally waved the white flag for the night. I really thought that we would have fallen into a comfortable groove with the new school year by now. I feel as frazzled as I did when we started in August. I keep hoping that everything will settle, but as we get ready to turn the page of the calendar, my hope is dwindling.

Even though I feel as if I'm swimming in chaos, Timmy has fallen into the routine of school. He enjoys Circle Time, Reading Circle and Craft Class each week. He is increasingly independent in all of them, which frees me up to work on other things. Even though he is able to participate in the classes without my assistance, I try to stay in the same room (but off camera) in case technical issues arise.

Being in the same room during his classes does offer the benefit of my being able to overhear his interactions. I must say, my little guy doesn't shy away from speaking his mind. Yesterday the teacher was talking about going to Disneyland and meeting Mickey Mouse.  

All of the students happily proclaimed their love and adoration for the Magic Kingdom. When the teacher asked Timmy if he has visited Disney, he didn't hesitate to offer his real opinion. "I have not been to Disneyland. I don't like that big mouse. If I saw that big mouse (Mickey) I would feed him to a snake."

Hmmm... I guess I'll cross a trip to Disney off our family bucket list.

Sore and Old

Just as I was getting used to the beautiful weather, Mother Nature decided to throw me a curve ball. Yesterday was dreary, ruining our plans to play at the farm in the afternoon. Instead Timmy and I returned to our standard indoor recess activity of dancing in the kitchen. Thank goodness our house is settled back from others because I'm sure the near constant stream of "The Floor is Lava" would annoy the neighbors.

I don't think I hurt my leg dancing, but at some point I annoyed my limb. My leg was sore last night, making it difficult to sleep. It wasn't phantom pain (thank goodness), instead I experienced regular "I am getting old" discomfort. It was still miserable, but not as frustrating.

I am still sore this morning. Although I'm able to walk, I definitely have a more pronounced limp. Hopefully my leg will sort itself out as the day goes on because walking with an altered gait will quickly lead to back problems. 

Getting old stinks!

Inflatables

Our work load hasn't changed, but the day feels so much easier when the weather is nice. I woke up early (which is slowly becoming my normal schedule) so I could knock out a few hours of work while the house was quiet. By the time the boys rolled out of bed, I had consumed a pot of coffee and logged half my workday. Mornings stink, but the productivity that waking up early affords me can't be beat.

Both boys worked hard throughout the morning, allowing us to disconnect and play outside for an extended recess. We rode bikes through the neighborhood and set up our Halloween decorations. Best of all, both boys were playing together and having fun! 

Our yard is spooked out and ready for the official kick-off of our holiday season. Right now the yard is filled with ghosts, pumpkins and a few witches. Soon, we will add turkeys, snowmen and Santa to the mix. I know that some people find them tacky, but inflatable decorations make me smile.

Our snowman countdown clock was pulled out of storage last week and is prominently set up in the living room. This weekend we are heading to the Christmas tree farm to tag our tree. We may be 87 days away, but I know that time is going to fly!

Tires and the Tank Farm

After what feels like weeks of rain, we were treated to an amazing weekend. The weather was ideal, with blue skies and a bright sun. Saturday morning Robby and I packed up, said goodbye for the day and headed to the Tank Farm.

Luck was not on our side. As I pulled into the gas station en route to the event, I realized that we had a flat tire. It wasn't just low on air. It was completely deflated. I immediately saw the cause- a large screw that had embedded into the tread of my relatively new tire.

Sitting next to the air pump at the gas station, I was completely out of my comfort zone. I am embarrassed to admit that I did not know how to change a tire. Thankfully we were relatively close to home, so I called Scott for help.

Trying to look on the positive side, now Robby and I both know how to change a tire! I hated the experience, but I am glad that we both learned a new skill. I was relieved that our tire could be plugged and, within an hour, we were back to normal. The frustration of the tire fiasco forced Robby and I to reschedule our adventure to Sunday.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed to the Tank Farm. I continue to be amazed by Robby's knowledge of military history and equipment. He knew as much, and in some circumstances more, than the reenactors. He was definitely in his element. 

Today we are back to school and work. It looks like the beautiful weather will be with us for awhile, so we will definitely have an extended recess. I'm looking forward to playing outside and soaking up as much autumn as possible.