SORE

I am sore, and TIRED! I have been working out on a regular basis for the last couple of months and I started in with a trainer 3 weeks ago. She is tough and good for me, although it costs me more than I should spend. I have been vascilating between feeling guilty about the money and reveling in the glorious selfishness of it. I am currently rationalizing it by figuring out : The cost of having a baby by some other means than growing it myself AND without the aid of any infertilization expenses, multiplied by 2. Then I add on the cost of milk, made by me, multiplied by 2. If I then add in the cost of full time child care, provided by..ME for 7 years (Gavin's first 4 and Ell's 3)... well, darn it.... I deserve it! I have spent a LOT of time on and with my family and now that they are able to be on their own a bit more, I am going to spend some more time on and with, myself. It is a really hard thing for me to do, I do feel guilty, but I know that I am working on being the best me that I can be and in that way, I am giving my family a gift. The gift of a mother and a wife who is happy and content and HEALTHY!!

I worked on my arms yesterday and I could barely fix breakfast this morning. It is a good thing that Ella can walk on her own! She wanted me to hold her, but I couldn't pick her up!! We just cuddled together on the couch! I am sore, my body and my soul... neither is used to getting so much attention.

The Carnival

For the second year in a row, Gavin's school held a carnival as the primary fund raiser for the year. For the second year in a row, it was a rousing success! There were lots of game booths, a cake walk, hot dogs, burgers, popcorn, snow cones, nachos and other goodies. In the multi-purpose room the kids could play Rock Band and Guitar Hero and there was an inflatable maze and karaoke. The pie baking contest had 15 pie entries and 4 judges. The tasting went well and we sold all remaining slices for $1 a piece. I learned what will make it better (and easier) for next year and even thought I did not win a ribbon...I must say my pie crust ROCKED. My filling choice could have been better, but "live and learn". I baked a "Fireside Fruit Pie" and the filling was apples, apricots and dates. It was "good" but not "special". The homemade crust came out perfect, so I will keep that and try a new filling next year! I also made a chocolate pie that got high marks, but my pre-made crust lowered my overall score...I worked hard at the booth all day and the kids played hard with Dad, Gramma and Grampa. There were lots of people there and everyone had a blast! Gavin ran around and LOVED his independence. With a pocket full of tickets, he was free to do whatever he liked. He went through the maze and played the drums in Rock Band (quite a few times), he ate a snow cone and got himself a hot dog. He did the cake walk and won a beautiful cake that we all shared at Sunday night dinner. Ella was clingy, but played games, ate popcorn and found out that snow cones are "weally, weally cold!" Andy ate pie, played games and hung out with Ella and at the end of the day, we were all exhausted! After that, I drove out to a friends house to hang out, meet her new foster children (an 8 month old baby girl and a cutie 2 year old boy!) and we did a little (very little) scrapbooking.

The rest of the weekend was spent catching up, cleaning up, and straightening up. After all of that "up", we relaxed and had some "down" time with Andy's parents. Another weekend over, and another week has begun....I hate to say it, but I can't wait until Winter Break! I am TIRED!

Weekend Fun!

Friday night was fun.. my mom and I had a blast at Gymboree and we did have coffee! When we got home, we found that Andy had hung up the Halloween lights and gotten started on decorating the house! We had a great dinner and then just hung out and relaxed.

Saturday was busy! We got up early and started painting the patio table, we decorated for Halloween with the kids, the neighbor kids came over to play, I did homework, we went to Gavin's soccer game and then we went to Andy's parents house to visit with GiGi and to have dinner. Andy and I even had time to watch a movie last night, we watched "The Breakup" and we both thought that it was pretty stupid, oh well.

Today, we headed off to Apple Country! Andy's parents and GiGi came with us! That was REALLY exciting because she has never gone on an outing with us! The weather was cool and crisp, but the sun was warm. After an hour in the car, we were ready to stretch our legs and have some apples! We bought candy, jam, apple butter, cider and LOADS of apples! We had a yummy fried chicken lunch picnic while we listened to "Merle" the yodeling country singer and the kids climbed around on the pumpkins. We brought home 4 different varieties: Pippen, Honeycrisp, Laura Red and Ambrosia! Lots to eat out of hand, some to cook with, some for applesauce and some for pie! We visited our 2 favorite sheds and figured out some other places that we would like to visit next year, since the kids are getting older and can handle a longer day. We got apple doughnuts and picked a few raspberries (Ella was a pro at this!) and then headed home for a wonderful pot roast dinner! A wonderful weekend with my family makes me feel ready for the week to come!

Life n' stuff

Gavin finally lost a top tooth and is working on the other! He looks so cute!

So, this week, I went to counseling AND worked out with a trainer! Talk about trying to get my life on track! School is going well, I have received high marks on papers thus far and have started my field work. I am observing in a 4th grade classroom and I think that it will be a great experience.

I am working on the pie contest for the Fall Carnival and now have about 20 pies and 4 judges lined up, I am working on all of the forms and coupons for the event and have ordered some FANTASTIC ribbons!

I STILL have not finished wrangling all of those photos from summer, but I am going scrapbooking on Saturday night. I only took about 10 pics during September, so I am not getting much more behind.

Halloween is quickly approaching and I am trying to get Gavin to decide what he wants to be, he had decided on a Magic 8 Ball and I was thrilled, but the lure of the pre-made Star Wars costumes has him waffling! We will see if I give in and let him have the store bought costume! Ella is going to be a mouse and although I have not started crafting, I do have all of the materials laid out on my dining room table, ready to go.

I drug El all around town today, she was a trooper! We went to Michael's, the bank, Walmart, Lowe's, Fresh & Easy and Vons! Whew... most were quick stops, but we ran around for 3 1/2 hours! My mom is coming over later and she and I are heading to the mall to hit Gymboree with my $50 in Gymbucks and a 25% off coupon! I am so excited! (I really don't get out much people!) I plan on stopping into Bath & Body works and picking up some pretty stuff for me, and maybe visiting Gloria Jean's for a yummy coffee drink. This was my friend Gina's and my tradition, "back in the day" and it still sticks with me. I haven't been to the mall in ... oh... maybe a year (or more!). After that adventure we will come back home and have a delicious Indian feast!

Tomorrow I am going to get up early and work on some homework before Gavin's soccer game and then we are going to work on the patio! We are going to paint the table and I picked up some new chairs and then MAYBE we will get the conduit painted. Some of the plants didn't survive and we will re-plant those! Then I am off to scrapbook and on Sunday we are headed up to Apple Country! I LOVE it there and I love our annual trip! We are excited that Andy's parents are going to join us and maybe even GiGi (Great Gramma) will come too! She was in the hospital this week, but is feeling great, so we are hoping that our plan is still on!

On another front, Ella has discovered the joy of Strawberry Shortcake. She is inheriting all of my old dolls! I collected them and have quite a few, they have never had their clothing or shoes removed and the have their pets and original combs. I suspect that it won't be long before they are naked and missing pieces, but they are meant to be loved. I was a little old for the dolls when they came out, but I loved them, so I collected them. I would take them out of the box, admire them and give them a good sniff, then back into the box they would go. They have been packed away since the earthquake in 1986, when my doll cabinet fell over and the glass broke. I thought that maybe I would sell them, someday. I looked them up on line and they are selling for $35-$135, but I realized that I just loved them too much to sell them. A few weeks ago, Andy taped Strawberry Shortcake for Ella and she fell in love! They do not currently make dolls, so other than the 2 from McDonalds, she has none. I asked her, if she would like to have mine. She gasped and exclaimed in a high squeal, "Oh, Mommy! I would LOVE them!" Then, she asked, "Why do you have these? Why did you keep them all this time?". I told her that I wasn't sure. Then, with all of the wisdom of a three (and a half) year old, she replied, "You kept them all of this time, for me. Right, Mommy?" Wiping a tear from my eye, I realized that she was right, "Yes, honey. I collected them and saved them, for you. Just for you." Cool.

This is only some of them, the rest are still boxed up in my mom's basement, they are coming and Ella is earning the dolls with good behavior and helping around the house!