October 30, 2009

As October Ends

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
I didn't read as much this month as I normally do, but I did manage to read a couple of books. For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men (Walker Large Print Books)
was my favorite relationship book to date and I can't believe how much I learned from it! The wisdom in that book truly helped improve my outlook on my marriage and, most of all, my husband. I am so grateful for that book! I also started the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!
. This is a mash-up of the original book with a tale of zombie invasion woven in. It's been pretty interesting so far. After I finish this I may just have to read the original.
I've been enjoying Disney Family Fun
magazine, too! This magazine is full of so many great craft ideas, learning games, stories, etc. A great resource for parents of young children.

What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?
I saw Zombieland for my birthday. It was pretty funny. Eric and I enjoyed it! We took the girls to see Where the Wild Things Are on opening day. It was interesting. Not really sure how much I enjoyed it. It was definitely stranger than I was expecting, and a lot more depressing.
I've been enjoying the new TV show, Glee. This show completely reminds me of high school and of the stigma that went along with being a part of groups like choir and colorguard. I pretty much enjoy anything with singing and dancing. Also, Eric and I have been getting pretty into the show True Blood on HBO. It's a pretty graphic show about vampires and at first I wasn't sure what to think about it, but the story line has been ridiculously engrossing. I still think the vampire obsession and love stories are strange and they kind of make me uncomfortable and awkward at times, but the show keeps ending with these crazy cliffhangers that make you crazy with the need to watch more! Please, though, if you consider checking it out, you need to know that it is explicitly graphic with violence, blood, gore, sex and is not for everyone. And please do not let your teenage kids watch this show. Oh man, it is NOT for kids. If you hear of your kids watching or being into this show, you should see what it's about... seriously. Please.
Oh, and Flash Forward. That one has been pretty interesting too! Really makes me long for Lost to start up again!

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?
Well, for my birthday I spent the day with Eric just shopping, eating, talking, relaxing. In the evening we went out with Mike, Abby, and Landon for some drinks and dancing. We had a great time!
We've also been going to small group Bible study with a group that our old church in Thief River Falls put together for those of us who live in the GF/EGF area now. It's been great to get together with friends to talk about God and love.
We took a trip out to the Pumpkin Patch for the third year in a row and had a great time as usual. It was so funny to look at the pictures of Alex compared to last years photos! He was a little wrinkly baby a year ago!

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Well, I bought a few new shirts for myself. I was long overdue, believe me. You know, it's pretty sad when I look at our closet and Eric's side is more than twice as full as mine! I need to start doing a little more clothes buying for myself. I also have seen a need for my girls wardrobe. They have next to nothing to wear for church. I'm not the type that thinks we should all wear our "Sunday best" every week, but sometimes would be nice. We don't even have enough for sometimes. We really don't even have enough for once. Man, those clothes really add up!

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
I've been very healthy. I hardly ever get sick. Jenna has been healthy all month as well. Marah has had a cold for over a month, as has Alex. They must keep catching new cold viruses. It's been unending! Eric took Alex to see the doctor yesterday and he's fine, just has a virus, so that's one less thing to worry about which is always nice. Eric has been doing okay. No Crohn's flare ups and no real issues with cold or flu either. Hopefully things will stay that way.


Overall, October was a great month! I'm enjoying being thirty, my kids are loving Awana, Jenna is so busy with Girl Scouts, Eric has been doing great in school, Alex is close to walking, and we are trying to enjoy the coziness of fall before winter flies in. Tomorrow is Halloween and we will be heading to the church for their party plus some trick-or-treating in the mall. Should be fun!

October 8, 2009

Time for Me

Since September began I have been struggling with trying to walk the fine line between having a clean house and spending time with my family. This is one of my biggest hurdles in life and I wish I could find a perfect solution. I'm fairly disorganized and that makes things even more difficult. I have such a hard time keeping track of things so that when I need to get a project done I end up spending an hour looking for everything I need and by the time I get everything ready somebody will inevitably need me for something.

There is always something. Always.

Today I am taking a personal day. Ever since I started planning Alex's birthday I have felt overwhelmed and exhausted. Finally, all the birthday stuff is done. I have had my fill of shopping. I am ready to take a break. So today I have done nothing. Or, well, as close to nothing as possible being a stay at home mom. It feels good, but at the same time I can't help but notice the messes piling up, the things left undone. I'm forcing myself to ignore it though. Tomorrow will be here soon enough and I can clean and do things to my heart's content. But today... today will be for me.

We need to do that every once in awhile.

October 6, 2009

and I was like, when did that happen?!

Today is my birthday. Today I turn 30. I'm super excited about it. I feel like it's a time for new beginnings. I hope to turn it into a decade of wonderfulness and adventure! I want my thirties to be amazing and I am committed to making sure that happens. Even if life decides to throw us a rough curveball, I'll be ready and willing to conquer any trial with the blessed assurance that my God is big enough to handle it.

I have been struggling lately with my weight loss. Kinda hit a bump in the road that threw me off course for awhile, but I've found my way back and while I'm not at the goal I had originally set for myself to be at by my birthday (I had hoped to be at 185) I did reset a realistic goal after gaining back a little of the weight I had lost. My summer journey had brought me down to 192 and then back up to 202. So a week and a half ago I rededicated myself to this lifestyle and made a goal of 195 by my birthday. I knew it would take a lot of work and focus. I knew I would have to get off my lazy butt once again. I knew it would be hard. And I was right. This morning I tentatively stepped up onto the scale and was so excited to see the numbers ONE-NINE-FIVE staring up at me. I mean... I did it!



Realistically, today is just another day. Sure we will be celebrating this evening but today will go on like any other. Laundering, playing, changing diapers, washing dishes, studying, reading, eating sandwiches... the usual. But that's okay. If the world wanted to stop so I could bask in birthday glory I would be cool with that, but of course that is not reality and I'm okay with that too!

Tonight we will go out for dinner, the five of us and then the kids will go to play at a friend's house while Eric and I go see this movie-



Ooh, I'm excited! LOL I'm sure my mom is cringing!

Here's to a wonderful year!

So, have a happy day! Enjoy it!

October 3, 2009

Why I Love Autumn

Top Ten Reasons I Love Autumn (in no particular order)

10. Snuggling up with a Chai Tea Latte made in the comfort of my own home



9. Nature's gorgeous display



8. Cozy Sweaters



7. Halloween



6. My Birthday



5. Pumpkins



4. The smell of fires burning in fireplaces



3. Rain



2. Baking



1. Warm soup

October 2, 2009

Did I Forget to Mention?

So Marah's party was nearly a week ago and I still haven't posted a word about it. I post on Facebook right away because it has a much better photo uploader than Blogger. I hate loading to Blogger. I wish they would improve that. So I'm going to start posting just a few of my fave pics here and then linking to the Facebook album. Hopefully that works. Then if you want to see more, you can. If you don't, you don't have to wade through all the pics.

Marah loved her party! We all had a nice time. I didn't do any games or anything like that. It was enough work just doing food and decorations. I'm just not a party planner! She got lots of nice gifts and mermaid stuff. I even made her a mermaid doll for the occasion. She LOVED her doll. It was really cute when I gave it to her. She gasped and hugged it and proclaimed her love for it. She even called it her "precious doll". It made the very late night of sewing it all worth it!

Here is my favorite picture from the day:



and here is a link to the album: CLICK HERE

The girls have been doing great with their Awana stuff. I have been so proud of the work they are putting into it. It is so cute to hear Marah reciting her verses. She is very proud to have her Cubbies vest and she earned her Jumper patch this week. She is excited about the patches because Jenna gets patches for Girl Scouts so now she feels special too.

Speaking of Girl Scouts... whew! Jenna has been BUSY with Girl Scouts! She recently has made raspberry jam, cleaned garbage from a parking lot, gone to the water park, had a campout and spent an entire (very long) day exploring the campground. This weekend she is going to a UND Fighting Sioux hockey game (the season opener) and next weekend she will be marching in the Potato Bowl parade with the Girl Scout float. She has a haunted trail walk at the end of the month as well as a Multicultural event in the middle of the month. Not to mention meetings and now Fall candy and magazine sales! She is absolutely loving it and I am loving to see her love it! Yesterday at their meeting they created Christmas cards for a contest the council is having and it was so cute to see all the girls raving about Jenna's drawing skills. She was so proud!

Today we took a nature walk by the river. It was a blustery and cloudy morning so we all bundled up and trekked through mud, collecting leaves, flowers, bark, rocks, crickets and grasshoppers. It was such a nice time. I love being outdoors with the family. And our window of opportunity is quickly closing for the year.

Here are my favorites:











and here is the link to the album: CLICK HERE

We are going to create a nature display for all the treasures we found and look up the plants online. Talking about the change in seasons and God's hand in all of creation.

This weekend we plan to go out to the Pumpkin Patch if it's not too nasty out. I hope it will be a nice day. Maybe we'll make some warm Fall dessert to enjoy as well.

So what are you planning to do to celebrate Autumn?